FRIEND OR FOE??

OH for the love of downloading!!! I am currently going through the most painful thing a lazy varsity student can ever go through. I could be in my warm bed right now drink hot chocolate and cookies but no, I'm in the lan doing my work and I'll probably be here for at least 6 hours. why? It pains me to even say this....My PC crashed!!! At first I thought it was just doing funny things beacsue technology tends to do things that you cannot understand sometimes. then yesterday the worst came true, it just shutdown and that was that. There was absolutely nothing I could do. So I took it to Matrix to get it repaired. they told me that my PC had 550 viruses, and that it would take 2+ days to scan the PC, debud it nad then install an anti-virus, and all this would laeve me R275 out of pocket.

This story of my life is a classic example of what happens to most of us...and why does this happen you ask? well the answer is simple Downloading!!! How I hate downloading right now. we all do it. we go onto music websites, download music, store it on our memory sticks, and save it on our PC and laptops. Simple right? not!! Because this simple exercise can be very costly. There are so many viruses just looming around in these lan computers or any other computers and we don't even stop to think twice about what exactly we are downloading or uplaoding onto our computers. We jsut like the fact taht its free. Well the saying "nothing in life is free/ nothing for mahala" alwys rings true. thiongs are never as simple as they seem. Now i am paying teh price because all that music rthat i uplaoded onto my PC will be deleted after the virus scan. so basically I lose. The music will be gone and so will my R275.

We claim to love our cellphones, laptops and PCs but we don't really take care of them. We don't even know what exactly a virus is and how to protect our valued machines against these viruses that make then crash. A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer without permission or knowledge of the user. A virus can only spread from one computer to another when its host is taken to the uninfected computer, for instance by a user sending it over a network or the Internet, or by carrying it on a removable device such as a floppy disk, CD, or USB drive. A way to make sure that our computers are virus free is to install anti-virus software that can detect and eliminate viruses. One may also prevent the damage done by viruses by making regular backups of data, which unfortunately i didn't do. it is also important to update your anti-virus software once a week is the minimum. it's hardwork to maintain a computer. this is a classic example of loving to do something but hating the consequences. right now downloading is looking more like a foe than a friend!

THE POWER OF THE HEADPHONES/EARPHONES 5

All i can say is WOW! thank you God for human capabilities. I' ve just read about a cordless earphone, meaning that you dont have to plug it on any thing, not your phone, cd player or even your ipod, it is portable. but the catch is that you can only with it for up to 10 hours.

Ok so this is how it works, it is a semi oval shape, which is shaped like that for it to wrap around behind your neck and it goes up to your ears, it is made out of rubber and not the usuall plastic that earphones are ussually made of, so comfotability is another great feature of the gadget.

they are made by DigiFi which is "digifi is a versitile winnipeg-based company dedicated to providing the best for our customers in; software development, websites, and new media design."(http://www.digifi.ca/about). they are called the Opera,they also allow you to tune in up to 3 additional Opera wearing friends. Silent raves will never be the same.

well im definately impressed and i cannot wait untill this brilliant technology hits South African shelves because it is still only in Korea. Quiet strange because i have recently heard that South Africa is a gueinea pig for new technology

MUSIC... ITS INFLUENCE...

Well friends, my last session of infotainment with you guys. And since this is the last interactive session (so I would like to believe) with you guys, I thought I would make it fun and exciting.

Now we know that music has been able to construct people's lives. I mean, nowadays you find that many people have adapted their lives around their favourite music. For instance, a person who is into rap music would dress themselves in big clothes (often baggy), all blinged up (even on their teeth), and they tend to have an American accent that is adapted to the coloured nature of Americans. American music is fast becoming an influential factor on people's music. The most dorminant music nowadays is that which is produced in America. When you look at the top charters of all times, you find that they are from America. The then top charters such as The Beatles, Michael Jackson etcetera, and the now top charters such as Mariah Carey and Alicia Keys are from America. I am sure that one would agree with me that America is the capital country of music. I know very well that if I would ask you who your favorite musician is, the musician that would most probably come to mind would be that which is American.

Now people, do not get me wrong. I am not saying that the only country that has been able to profoundly produce music is America. Other countries have also been able to do this. Bringing this idea closer to home, we have also been able to produce fairly good music that has been recognised almost all over the world. Our ambassadors, such as Loyiso Bala, Freshlyground, Zama Jobe and the Soweto Gospel choir have been able to do us proud. Our music has reached a global level and it has been well recognised and recieved by the world. this proves that South Africa has what it takes to reach a global level of significance.

Although I am very proud of what South African musicians have been able to accomplish, a I am sometimes weary of the fact that South African musicians are trying so much to adapt to the American style of producing songs. For most artists in this country, one finds that they aspire so much to American music, that they start deviating from the native originality of it. Firstly, they start by not using ethnic languages to appeal to the South African audiences, they choose a style of dressing that is most common amongst Americans and lastly, they start dancing like Americans. I think the mentality that drives these musicians is that American music has so much influence over the music scene, that they also want to carry-on from that influence in order for them to make a success out of their careers aswel. The South African public generally, does not have much appreciation for local music as they do for international music, so perhaps that is one of the reasons why South African musicians start deviating from the local material.

MUSIC SOFTWARE AND VIRUSES

I'm sure you guys pretty much have an idea of what software is and why it is so useful in this day in age. I have elaborated mostly on its definition because I knew that most of you guys would not have even the vague idea of what it is.

I have indeed informed you guys of probably the most prominent software for phones that is able to download music on your mobile. But life doesn't just end there peeps, there are other software programmes that are able to help you download music, not only on phones, but also on your Ipod, MP3 and MP4 player (which is the latest adaptation from the MP3, it is able to play music and videos).

Since music has such a major influence on the world (literally), I believe people will always try and invent ways to access it, ways that will make it easier to download music on almost every kind of gadget. Recently I visited a website (http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/) that avails a large variety of music software.

Alot of software nowadays also comes with many risks. One may be enticed by the variety of softwares varied to them, but this sometimes has a negative effect on the gadget or type of mobile phone they are using. 'Viruses' are now a big effect in the New Media. One might install a software programme on their gadget but because we sometimes share the software, viruses can be passed on from one source to the other. Music songs on their own may have viruses and therefore when one passes the song to the next, the process is tampered with. Not only does this happen between gadgets and mobile phones, but it is a very common case in computers aswel. Computers are very sensitive towards viruses and therefore external material can easily affect them. For instance, this one time my computer contracted a virus so I took it to the nearest computer shop, after they had fixed it, I asked them what could have caused it to contract the virus in the first place; they told me that MP3s and Compact Discs are sometimes the influence of viruses in most cases. And indeed, I had been using alot of MP3s and CDs on my computer and I do believe that this is the reason why my computer contracted the virus. Can you believe it people, mobile phones now also contain the risk of contracting a virus from other external sources. Apparently exchanging music through bluetooth can cause the phone to contract a virus. The virus could allegedly be caught through the bluetoothing of songs. Indeed, software can be really hectic when it comes to its dangers.

So even though most of us would probably love to access our favourite types of music at any time and at any place on any source of material, this comes with the risk of contracting a virus, but the upside is, the virus is not one that is chronic, it can easily be cleaned out or even prevented from tampering with the system through what is referred to as an 'Anti-virus'; now wouldn't that be useful for preventing other things such as 'piracy' huh?

"THE HEAVEN FOR PIRACY"....SAID DR DRE!!!!

The incident that happened in 2001 between Napster and Rapper Dr Dre and rock group Metallica, made me think about the poor artists taht are affected by websites that enable the public to download free music.Before I get to all that, let me start at the begining....

What is Napster? (well I am proud to say that I am sticking to my "techno-learning challenge". Eversince I decided to educate myself about the internet, new media and technology as a whole, I've learnt lots of interesting things that I didin't know and I got to gain insight on things that I knew about but didn't really understand. take the Napster/Dr Dre /Metallica fiasco for instance. As a lover of music, I like to follow what is going on in the media industry, however, because I didn't know what napster was and hat it was about, I couldn't exactly follow the lawsuit). Napster was an online music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning and operated between June 1999 and July 2001 while he was attending Northeastern University in Boston. This is before it was shutdown due to the Recording Industry Association of America, many copyright lawsuits and eventual bankruptcy.

The whole ordeal began when heavy Metal band Metallica discovered that a demo of their song "I disappeared" had been circulating across the napster network before they had released it. the band responded by filing a lawsuit against napster. A month later, rapper Dr Dre filed a similar lawsuit after napstrer wouldn't remove his work from their service. After that many other lawsuits came knocking on napster's door from record labels and many other recording companies. Amongst others, the most serious claims that were made against napster were:

1. that its users and napster were directly infringing the artists'/ company/'s copyright of the music

2. that napster was liable for vicarious infringement of their copyright.

The court found napster guilty. in 2001, napster finally declared itself bankrupt and sold its assests.

After a $2.43 million takeover offer by the Private Media Group, an adult entertainment company,Napster's brand and logos were acquired at bankruptcy auction by the company Roxio, Inc. which used them to rebrand the pressplay music service as Napster 2.0, which is an online music service offering a variety of purchase and subscription models. their main competitors are itunes and Apple Inc. Napster 2.0 is not a peer-to-peer service, but besides the name and logo this new version does contain some features (such as artist, album and song search) similar to those of the original Napster. This is a much better alternative, and it is a win-win situation beacuse the artist's rights are still protected and they don't lose any money from their hard work. however, there is now teh newly formed Napster free. which is exactly what it says it is in the name. It where people can download and listen to free music. I guess the saying remains.. "the more things change, the more they remain the same!!!"

THE RELEVANCE OF SOFTWARE...

The last time I communicated with you guys, I was on the idea of software. It is quite evident that most people are unaware of software, but are rather more acknowledged about the idea of hardware. Most people are interested on the tangible material rather than the intangible. We as human beings have made the habit of focussing ourselves in things which visibly help us, which seem more efficient to us, and things that require less thinking and more doing. Now I have seen a couple of times that whenever I mention to someone something related to software, they jump right at me because they find it quite complex and very difficult to understand. A majority of people find the idea of software quite dense and irrelevant. A typical customer at a computer shop does not necessarily focus on the software when buying a computer, but rather, their prior engagement when purchasing a computer is what the computer looks like, and the special features that it carries. Most people have forgotten that the features that the computer carries are only there because they have been made possible through the input of software. I guess it would be typical that a customer would perform in this kind of mindset. When one seriously ponders around the idea, you wouldn't go to a bakery and ask who made the cake you are eating; it would simply be regarded as abnormal and the person selling the cake to you would certainly think you are 'coo-coo!

P D Marshall states that the development of the software that runs on the hardware of computer is thus generated code that builds layers of code to produce the graphic user interface we are used to seeing on the computer screens.

You know, most of us are unaware that the good stuff that the computer provides us is made possible buy software. Even the things that drive us to buy a computer are triggered by the idea of software. Software such as Microsoft, the Internet are things that drive us to buy a computer and they are software. Without these things, one would probably not bother to purchase a computer.

Now software has a great impact to the music we listen to. I mean, when you think about it, music is transcended from one person to another throught the means of software. When we look at the current generation, the influence of cellphones is abundant upon most nations. A common method of transcending music within those nations is through cellphone. Software has been created to better suit the efficiency of transcending music from one person to the other. An updated computer would have 'bluetooth'. Now bluetooth is a software device that aids the transcending of music between cellphones. This type of software is one which is vbery effective. It is almost like a mouse which can smell cheese from far away. If one has their bluetooth on, everyone else who has it on will automatically be invited to the user at the time. And for that, bluetooth devices can be said to be quite universal as they are open to all that have access to it.

Therefore, I conclude with saying that cellphone software acts as an aid to the growth of music popularity due to the new software that has developed with it, such as Bluetooth etcetera.

I'VE BEEN TUNED!!!

Now it is a well known fact that I Zamani Mcina am absolutely hopeless and clueless when it comes to technology. I'm not even exaggerating. I absolutely now nothing. I didn't even know what Apple was until very recently. I am still clueless about simple things like GPRS on my phone. It's Shameful, I know, but what can I say, I guess I'm just lazy or maybe its fear. You're probably wondering how a 3rd year media student can be afraid of technology. It's absolutely ridiculous but sadly it's true and i know I'm not alone (I hope). Things are getting even worse now. To my horror, when I recturned to varsity this year. The aweful thing happened to me. "What on earth?" I said in Horror as I opened Microsoft Word to type an assignment. For some only God knows reason, my much loved and trusted and most importantly, not complicated Microscoft 2003, had been replaced by something from hell called Microsoft 2007. This is teh most complicated thing I've ever come across. "Who is this person taht hates me so much and iis trying to make my life a living hell?" I thought to myself. I psent hours infront of theh computer trying to figure this thing out. i was beyond embarrest because i swear people were staring at me, but no one offered to help me. This made me realize taht no matter what I think or how I feel about it, technology is a part of my life and its here to stay, so I may as well get acustommed to it quickly and overcome my fear of technology beacuse I am getting further and further behind. So right then I decided that instead of avoiding and running away from technology and the new media, I'm actually going to teach myself about it and get involved and engage in it so tat i will not be alienated. so I've logged onto Fcaebook (and not just as a media 201 assignment must). I am proudd to say I am officially part of the online society.

So following up with my journey of "techno discovery", yesterday I GOT TUNED!! That is to say, i logged onto i-tunes. As I was googling Apple because I finally decided I was tired of being the only person I know who doesn't know what Apple is, I came across i-tunes. Being teh music lover that I am, when I see or hear anything about tunes, my curiousity or should I say the journilist within swithched onto alertness mode and I just have to know more. So I clicked onto the icon and the rest is history.

For all those who don't know (I am hoping that there are some fellow clueless people out there). i-tunes is Apple's very popoular online music store. It offers purchase links to songs, as well as ipod player and accessories. I was so surprise to learn that there are other cool downloading websites out there apart from Youtube. As I am so concerned about the ethical implicationsof downloading. I was very pleased to see that music on i-tunes is for sale not jusr free music that we can download (steal) off the internet. I even saw links to American Idols (which is one of my favourite). I voted online. And I even purchased some music. It was a new experioence for me beacuse I am so used to just bluetoothing music from friends' phones onto my phone. Get Tuned people!! it's great!!

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE???

In the New Media world, we hear of hardware and software, but what are these things. We probably have better knowledge of hardware because it is the first thing that comes to mind when we try and purchase New Media merchandise. Hardware essentially looks at the tangible material that one purchases, it is the physical stuff that we buy. Hardware can be said to be things like PCs, laptops, MP3s and even IPods. Indeed, when we go into a store, we don't start asking where the hardware is, we are more familiarised with the term 'equipment', or for that matter, 'merchandise'.

I am not trying to raise a point that not talking 'New Media' language is not 'in' or simply out of fashion, but I personally feel that people should engage themselves into such things. Having better knowledge of these terms can expand one's knowledge base, and not only this, it can also expand one's horizons in terms of being alert in this new world of 'technology'.

Now we have passed the idea of hardware, but what is software?

Software is often divided into two categories:
systems software : Includes the operating system and all the utilities that enable the computer to function.
applications software : Includes programs that do real work for users. For example, word processors, spreadsheets, and database management systems fall under the category of applications software.

(http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/software.html: 25/04/08-09:40(

It looks at the intangible part of the hardware system; for some reason, people have found the idea of software very intimidating and abstract; it's only a matter of following instructions. When one really thinks about it, software programmes try in everyway convey instruction to us in a very subversive manner. Just think of the icons one finds on their PCs, they have trash-cans to convey recycling bins, even closer to home, we find that we have dollar signs which signify printing credits etctera. Essentially, what I am trying to elaborate on is that software is quite understandable if one took the time to notice.

Software tends to be the one component of technology that people are really ignorant about. People have a tendency of thinking that software has to do with Bill Gates' Microsoft programme. Yes, Bill Gate did develop the Microsoft programme, and it seems to be worldly renowned and a fast money making scheme, but this is not where software begins and ends. Bill Gates might have begun the software, but this is not where it ends, other softwares have been developed afterwards. We find different softwares nowadays; we now have softwares for our MP3s, IPODs, even phones now have anti-virus software.

Conclusively, the message I am trying to get across is that software is an essential part of hardware, and that hardware would not exist without it. So next time you try to purchase something, do not forget that in order for that 'merchandise' to function, software had to be part of the deal!!

Music dates back as far as our great grandfathers would remember, and I am quite sure that even if you were to ask them when music evolved, they would have absolutely no idea. Music evolved when during the time before christ and has evolved over the centuries. It has revolutionised itself timeously through the centuries and has continously been used by people to transcend messages to each other. Music is a cherished part of human living because it has proved itself to be an easy route of communicating messages to a vast amount of society. Music is mainly a representation of human thought and feeling, for some communities, it is a ritual performed in honourof someone or something.

In the 20th century, the adoration of music by people increased tremendously, which saw the the evolution of certain technologies. It is amazing to find that technology and music work hand-in-hand. When music evolves, technolgy evolves generally in support of the music ideal. As I was stating, music saw a rise in the 20th century, and because of this, it was accompanied by evolution of the radio technology. People acquired radio to listen to music, and because of this, the love of music increased.

Although music has managed to revolutionise itself over the centuries, unlike technology (where one finds that the computer replaces the typewriter and so on and so on) music has not comletely lost its essense. Indeed, it has been modified and rejuvenated by generations, but the idea of messaging has not been completely deleted. The old has not been completely replaced by the new as one finds that old songs have now been re-formed to accomodate the youth. Songs such as Stuck on you by Lionel Richie and Forever Mine by The Commodors have been 'remixed' ( a term used to describe a remodification of a song). This proves how song has been re-adapted to account as meaning for the present generation.

THEFT!!!.....or maybe not????????

Downloading is the simplest and easiest way for a person to get ahold of things like music, movies and even videos. It's so easy that it leaves no room for serious thought about the consequences. Thus, we just enjoy the benefits of downloading and hardly ever stop to think of the implications and effects it has on the artists and the music industry as a whole. what isn't so simple about downloading music is the copyright protection laws that people break everyday when downloading tracks off the Internet. however, not all music is protected. Some music can be lawfully downloaded but the laws regarding music downloading varies from country to country. in the United States, downloading is governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which strictly deems downloading of copyrighted music illegal. however, there is an exception to making a copy for your own person use. In south Africa. Downloading has a huge impact on the music industry. This is due to the fact that people are no longer purchasing Cd's because they can get the music for free off the Internet. it is alleged that the music industry has lost more than 20% globally in sales since 1999. this loss unfortunately affects the industry as a whole including the musicians, sound technicians, recording studios and even the music stores, who make their living through this music that we are literally stealing. thus i am left confused because, it is clear that music downloading is unlawful and ethically wrong, when you consider that we are just taking other people's work free off charge. the question that lingers in my mind and is the result of my confusion is, why is there still an influx of software that allows the ripping and burning of music if these activities are so wrong and destructive?

zamani mcina

THE PHENOMENON!!!!

So you're looking for the latest chart topping songs or perhaps you're looking to make a music compilation for your ipod or CD Walkman. well look no further!! technology has come to your rescue. now you don't have to go all the way to Musica or any other music store to buy an entire album, when you actually just like one song on the album. gone are the days of listening to your favourite songs through the headphones at the music store, or even worse, hearing the song once on the radio then spend most of your days hoping that the DJ will play it again. Nowadays, all we have to do is open a program, select tracks that we like and download them. downloading is a phenomenon that has been occurring for decades. We've all done it at some point in our lives; whether it be transferring photos from a camera memory card to the computer or bluetoothing the latest tunes from a friend's phone. but what exactly is this trend that seems to have taken the entire world by storm? Downloading is the transmission of a file from one computer system to another. To download a file is to request it from another computer (or from a Web page on another computer) and to receive it. i felt it necessary to give a brief definition of what downloading is before any further discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon.

THE POWER OF THE HEADPHONES/EARPHONES 4

earphones are not only used for our own pleasure only, they even have political and governmental purpose. everyone has seen undercover detectives or the FBI wearing them when solving a case.

http://www.earinc.com/p2-specialty-teleprompter.php

you have the skeleton- style earpiece which are used by the FBI and for undercover work by detectives. Also used by anchor persons and reporters ( when they receive breaking news while reporting live)

they allow for two-way radio communication. they are made transparent with no colour so to seem invisible when a person either undercover or not wearing them can seem as though they are not wearing them to the other person

It is so amazing how this technology transcends the limitations of fashion by making its use for life changing purposes. when you think about it almost everywhere you may look people are using either headphones of earpieces for some reason. E.g the pilot, the call centre operator, the body guard, the security, etc

This technology has made communication faster, cheaper and less time consuming and less edited ( meaning that you can say what you want to say immediately without thinking about it and doubting it, the sensation of the massage is all there)

THE POWER OF THE EARPHONES/ HEADPHONES 3

http://images.google.co.za/images?q=earphone+pics&ndsp=20&um=1&hl=en&start=40&sa=N

On the 17th of March as we all know the UKZN strike started. Thank God I have, yes, my earphones. You wonder why i say this, well firstly I was terribly frustrated that we were kicked out of the LAN and the Library yesterday. In order to deceive my fellow African students I joined the strike ( to make myself seem less of a traitor) but in mind I was not there, I had my earphones to calm me down because I was thinking about the assignment I was suppose to do.

Another interesting thing is that I could hear news reports about the strike while I was in the strike. It was so interesting to hear the radio news reporter report very edited things about the strike while I knew and was experiencing the whole full thing.

So either escaping a situation with you earphones you can also have the advantage of hearing news reports early than many people who would wait till the 7pm news to get the latest scoop. Radio news is more current than television news, so listening wearing your earphones doesn't mean you are listening music only, but the individual might be also listening to the radio and the news which normally come on hourly.

THE POWER OF THE EARPHONES/HEADPHONES 2

Just a quick interesting history about this wonderful media technology, the picture above is taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headphones. These are radio head phones from 1919. Very incredible , it reminds you of the headphones that DJ's normally use. the latest is the one on the right

The styles of headphones has changed dramatically. Recently I saw headphones that had a small mic on them, they are used when you are recoding yourself maybe on a track. Not only are there two piece earphones, but there are One earpiece earphones, which I have, and extremely loud. From that to the smallest earpiece, which is about 6mm width, 6mm height. This magnificent technology is used mostly for audio security,audio surveillance, conferencing, law enforcement, gaming, cheating( which is extremely wrong though) and for spying techniques.

headphones have always been used for recording in the studio purpose.....looking at old movies of old musicians you see them wearing headphones when recording, even now they are still used.

So it is clear that like the Pair of jeans, the headphones/earpiece is never going to be out of style instead they will evolve and improve with time and will be there from generation to the next generation

THE POWER OF THE EARPHONES/ HEADPHONES

WOW........i can actually survive a whole boring church service, an irritating lecture, oh and not forgetting ignoring the world around me.

Yep i hear all these things all the time. wow! even i feel like this sometimes. I think one of the best things that has ever happened to technology was the earpiece. be it the earpiece of you phone, ipod, pocket radio or CD walk man ( if there are still people who carry those), the earphones are radical

the deceit they have, not only that but they are very stylish to...., i know people who wear them without actually listening to anything

all in all the earphones allows you to escape to a whole new world. can be hypnotising though after a while.. I heard some one saying yesterday that this technology can effect your learning capabilities in a way that because you are constantly listening to music your brain starts to absorb some slang which then you use subconsciencly when you write you assignments. Not only assignments but important documents, now anyone doing their honours can tell you that the use of slang will definitely give your chances of passing a huge dent.