Our work on our tutor's blog!

http://mark-elliott.net/view/Public/MfntFutureVisioning07

there it is, check it out. the stuff I wrote 2 posts before is under 2032 - Extreme convergence.

THIS IS AWESOME! :D

Im back!

The heat from this saturday afternoon combined with a well, average cup of coffee from the IH coffee station made me realise I should get my butt back into blogging. For no good reason, really. Hang on. I thought of one. Maybe because I havent felt quite this crazy/upset over an issue.

So making headlines these days have been the fires in California and how its forcing half a million people out of their comfort zones. (ie homes) As if thats no bizarre enough, the US Federal Emergency Management Agency holds a fake news conference! This i quote from The Age today, MA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson rushed to put focus back on his actual job - "how well the response and recovery elements are working in this disaster - should not be lost because of how we tried to meet the needs of the media in distributing facts". I know those facts wont be lost, but his job looks pretty promising to me.

As an Arts, Media and Communications student Im sure we all know Google is our best friend. Heck, you dont even need to be an arts student to be tight with Google. But isnt it so strange, how we rely on the search engine? ANY small changes to Google's algorithm that determines how high up in search results a site appears can foil any attempts to game the system in a heartbeat. Google map gives you directions, Google in general gives you answers. Only with the help of their best buddy though, Wikipedia.

Finally in the news of good ol Aus poltiics, Rudd needs to up his game. First he's unwelcomed at a Seniors Citizen Club and is dismissed as a "ignorant bastard" then he shows up at a mall where the Liberals for Cowan were making their moves. Its like the Bush-Kerry dilemma. Most chose Bush anyway cos the ka-ching was made that way.

Media futures and technology

(Read with matter of fact, newscaster voice)

2032 is the year all of our appliances will talk to each other. The mobile phones will be so small; we can make it a chip in our ears.

25 years from now, we will barely hold on to devices. Want to pick up a call? Pull your right ear lobe. To end the call? Pull your left ear lobe. With synchronization of emotions and touch, your brains and emotions determine whether you wish to answer a call. Should you not feel like it, a message can be recorded.

The remote controls of today will be chips in our fingertips. Want to watch the news on-the-go? Index finger for ABC, middle finger for channel 7, and baby finger for channel 10. (Oh and…nothing rude implied there, you can choose the middle finger for any channel) Personal preferences will be the new black; you can preset and change whatever you want. 2032 will be the year we celebrate consumers choice. The contact lenses of today will be a television screen, which can also provide the picture-in-picture service so technically we can watch 4 programs at the same time.

Of course these new technologies integrated into our ears, hands and eyes have potentially destructive problems attached.

Problem: What if we forget to turn off the sense of touch or programming and we go about our daily lives?
Solution: Not to worry, it would de-sensitize with the brain waves and would shut down if there is expression of disinterest.

Problem: What if there is no reception with networks? And who controls the information flow?
Solution: Reception is an issue today but hopefully by 2032, people can get reception all over and underground. Unfortunately, news content will still be regulated by the media conglomerates and would be divided down party lines or personal agendas. A way around this would be to create a profile with political interests, favourite television shows etc. The individual regulates the information they receive or watch.

Problem: These technologies would probably generate an excessive amount of infra-red, it might cause cancer and possibly an entire plethora of deadly diseases.
Solution: Unfound…

Stay tuned.

Hearts of stone

This must be somewhat record breaking - not having an entry for almost a month. Up until last weekend when I met the House 3 chicas for a catch up brunch at St Kildas, I thought no one else read the random strings of words I so loosely put together.

All I can think about is final semester, the end of a chapter and the exhilaration one has with a BA in my pocket/bag/hat. Not exactly a feather, since I've dropped the Honours idea a while back. No point, not within my aspirations anyway. The future is looking towards LA, uprooting myself from the familiarity of Melbourne and possibly starting a new chapter in my life. The more I think about it, the less intimidated I am. Thats the gutsy oopmh you ease into once you claim yourself as a global citizen. Its a month till the exams and Im not dreading it at all. Ace those papers and walk out of Melbourne Uni relieved and proud. Its not a day I envisioned so soon, but Im quite glad it is round the corner. And not forgetting the traveling before the actual ceremony! Tassie and possibly New Zealand sits on the table. Decisions decisions...

While it is tough and definitely a challenge to balance the life of an intern and the life of a student, I will not regret this internship at the end of it all. The highs outweigh the lows, and definitely the best internship I've ever had. Big claim, so its true. In some sense, it has changed my involvement in many things. College, Uni, meeting up with friends - priorities change. And Im quite happy to leave Melbourne this way. I dare say I will miss this place terribly if my plans do materialize. Life. Happens. Roll with the punch.

So this update is for people who actually pop by and check everything's going. All's good. Its busy, but good.