News Report #4

Facebook, Youtube at Work Make Better Employees: Study
Miral Fahmy, wired.com
4/2/2009
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2009/04/reuters_us_work_internet_tech_life


A new study from Australia has found that people who WILB, or conduct workplace Internet leisure browsing, are 9% more productive than those who do not. Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, had several comments in reference to this topic. Among other statements, Coker mentioned that leisurely browsing the Internet resets the brain and creates an environment more capable of acceptable workplace productivity. Some of the more popular WILB's are Youtubing, reading news stories, playing online games, or researching information about products. Coker also mentioned that most firms spend millions of dollars on software to prevent their employees from accessing social networking sites in an attempt to make them more productive. However, it seems that the opposite has now been proven. In fact,
"According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB". Of course, this study has its limits. Those who were monitored only spent 20% of their time or less in the office leisurely browsing. So, unfortunately, those who have an apparent Facebook addiction are not out of the loop quite yet.
This study sounds pretty appropriate for most people. I know that while studying, breaks are needed so that our brains can absorb everything we are needing to learn. Thus, this is the situation in the office, too, it appears. A little Internet browsing never hurt anyone, and now maybe students can "leisurely" check Youtube or Facebook while in class using the argument that doing so enables us to create more productivity in the classroom!

Reading Response #5

Among all the technology that young adults are faces with everyday such as texting, emailing, or updating our facebook profile, probably one of the most important technological advances has been placed as somewhat not of a priority for college students: academic research. Though, this is not the usual library visit. This is the concept of looking up and using online resources for the students' papers, projects, and presentations that occur during high school as well as college. However, we are finding more and more that college students are unable to correctly look for online information without leaning on Google or Wikipedia for help. And slowly but surely, college's are beginning to do something about it. Faculty at California State University will often send a class to a computer lab to have a librarian show them correctly how to research online databases and articles found in the library. As a whole, this national process is known as "information literacy" and it is becoming more of a big deal as time passes. With over 18,000 scholarly databases online, colleges are now looking to be graded based on the concept of their students information literacy.
I think this would be good for the upcoming generation. We are so advanced technologically in other areas, but I see this as the most important tool for our future. I believe students become so overwhelmed with the idea of online databases that they basically give up and use the knowledge they know or just rely on Google or Wikipedia. With the knowledge of how to use academic research online, I feel that students would gain more confidence in their library skills as well as their academics.

Reading Response #3

This article was an interesting read. It spoke of the history of libraries and how libraries are changing because of today's modern technologies. Thomas Frey gives his audience a pretty specific outlook on libraries and how they have affected our history. Back before technology had been invented and Google didn't exist, people relied greatly upon libraries. An example is given of Leonardo da Vinci and how his works were preserved with the help of the National Library of Madrid, along with others. Frey then goes further by stating that besides those who read for pure pleasure, these days libraries are becoming less and less of a demand. Almost everything you need can be found on the Internet and thus libraries are seeing fewer participants. Frey then breaks down ten key trends that are affecting the development of the next generation library. Going in order, they are communication systems are continually changing the way people access information, all technology ends, we haven’t yet reached the ultimate small particle for storage, search technology will become increasingly more complicated, time compression is changing the lifestyle of library patrons, over time we will be transitioning to a verbal society, the demand for global information is growing exponentially, the stage is being set for a new era of global systems, we are transitioning from a product-based economy to an experience based economy, and libraries will transition from a center of information to a center of culture. Within each of these categories, Frey describes his theory. He then states how to keep libraries as a useful resource, even given today's technological advances.
I thought this article was very useful and interesting. I was not aware that da Vinci's works were preserved through a library. I also think Frey was useful to point out the problems libraries are facing with society today. Hopefully by pointing it out and giving suggestions, people will still find libraries a good source for information.

News Report #3

Coder's Half-Million-Dollar Baby Proves iPhone Gold Rush Is Still On
By Brian X. Chen, wired.com
2/17/2009
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2009/02/shoot-is-iphone.html

For those who have lost faith in humanity, Ethan Nicholas is here to restore you're misguided hope, or at least he is with Apple's IPhone application store. Nicholas, developer of a tank artillery game called iShoot, literally went from a average guy in America to a man who created an IPhone game that was number one for 26 days. Running off of self help reading materials and the strive to provide better for his family, this inexperienced gamer never expected to get over half a million dollars from his experimental conquest. He, being inspired from Trism, admits after getting off work at Sun Microsystems, would sit and work on iShoot for nearly eight hours while holding his son. Initially, iShoot launched in October. However, business was slow so Nicholas resorted to creating a free version of iShoot called iShoot Lite. After users downloaded the version 2.4 million times, 320,000 of those downloaded the full version at $3 a piece. Nicholas's popular game was placed at No.1 for 26 days; however, he still stands strong in No.6 presently. He has yet to receive his paycheck from Apple, yet the estimated number will be huge. According to Nicholas, expecting $600,000 would not be audacious in the least. This is even more than the game Trism made. Someone this lucky is surely giving others inspirational hope when it comes to creating IPhone games.
I never knew individuals could make games for the IPhone on their own. I also didn't realize how popular these IPhone and their applications are. I am happy for Nicholas and his family and am curious about the game he created. I am sure many others will attempt his luck with their new found inspiration.

News Report #2

Google Quietly Declares E-Mail War on Yahoo
Jennifer Martinez and David Lawsky, wired.com
2/5/2009
http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2009/02/reuters_us_google_gmail

And the race continues between Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Time Warner. All four of these companies fight to win the attention of their Internet-bound viewers. At this time, though, it seems Google has a lead on the race. Google’s Gmail has installed new features at an impressing rate, leaving Yahoo, Microsoft and Time Warner in the dust. And surprisingly, the 34 experimental features on Gmail have been done without much publicity. That is, everything except the newest feature. Just introduced this month, Google installed an application that allows for the downloading of mail so that viewers can read their Gmail offline. Other installations have also been cleverly added. If in an angry rage, “mail goggles” asks a simple math question before submitting the email, ensuring that the sender is certain they wish to send the mail. There is also an attachment reminder for those of us who periodically forgot to send the promised attachment. And a new appliance allows a picture to be depicted for those chatting online. All of these simple and convenient gadgets are only making Google users more confident in their chosen web source.
I can honestly say that I am one of those people who sometimes forget to attach articles to my emails. I think almost all of these new features are absolutely reasonable and usable for everyday people. And it is obvious by Google’s numbers that others feel this way too. I’m sure Yahoo, Microsoft, and Time Warner have some plans up their sleeves, but I doubt they will be as successful as Google continues to be.

Reading Response #2

This article basically gives an in depth analysis of Wikipedia and its positives and negatives. The article begins by giving a scenario of Alexander M.C. Halavais posting false statements onto the website. In an attempt to see how long they could last, he predicted a few months would be a reasonable estimate. However, he, as well as I, was surprised to find that Wikipedia caught his fabrications within a matter of hours. Apparently, editors of Wikipedia ensure that articles posted are pretty accurate and valid for viewers. This is a great reassurance for some professors and a great resource for most students who are technologically bound. However, those seasoned historians are upset to have their thoughts condensed into a restricted amount of space. With so much to go into the thought of history, most believe that space should be made available as to supply a reasonable amount of information for viewers. There is another problem, though. The aged perspectives of these historians also come into contact with views of popular errors made in history. Even with the editing to correct these mistakes, others are there to reassure that their thoughts are more accurate and supply quotes from books that may or may not be a reliable source. Thus, most historians are frustrated with the process of Wikipedia, professors are encouraged to reflect and share their knowledge, and students are more convinced than ever that Wikipedia should count as an appropriate research tool.
I was surprised to find that Wikipedia even had editors to review newly posted information. It appears to me that many examples were supplied that support the accuracy of Wikipedia. The Encyclopaedia Britannica was found to have had 3 inaccurate facts and Wikipedia had 4. I believe there are more instances of Wikipedia being factual than there are that it is full of false information. I also believe that the majority of these who believe it is inaccurate are elders who are trying to hold on to the "old days" when books and journals were the only source of factual information.

Reading Response

This article by Paul Piper was very interesting as well as informative. In general, he describes how web hoaxes, counterfeit sites and other unusual information end up on the Internet and into our homes. As he points out, finding a "fake" website is easier said than done. Giving an in depth analysis, Piper unravels the truth behind websites varying from endorsing lip balm addiction solutions to a native American sponsored whale harvesting .org site. All of the examples he points out seem relatively harmless; needless to say, any one average person on the street would assume that the information is accurate as well as convincing of the truth. The dark side, however, is that fake websites these days are more realistic than ever and come with alternating motives. Those responsible for such hoaxes are not credible or in any way plausible for that matter. As solution, suggests Piper, is to address the author of the text. This can many times instantly rule out the validity of a website. For example, the website that was seemingly dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. could have be eliminated from all possible accuracy if one had looked up the sponsor and found them to be a pro-white affiliation. Thus, as reliable as one might assume the website to be, even with a .org the text is not always as trustworthy as we might have hoped.
I was shocked to discover how real this situation is to my life. We can read these stories and think, wow, whoever really believed this crap is pretty unintelligent. But with this, we can't. And we cannot because the websites have become so realistic and valid that questioning the accuracy of the page probably wouldn't even cross our mind. It's scary to think that any one person can make up anything they want and put it out for the world to believe. I wouldn't have recognized looking up the author as a way to check for the credibility of the site before reading this article. I am not entirely sure why people post things that are intentionally misleading or in any way mean, but I am sure that from now on I will be more aware of what I am reading and, more importantly, WHO I am reading.