Future Uncertain?

Over the a short time span of 20 years, the Internet has grown at an astonishing rate. Of course, there's always room for improvement. This is just a personal wishlist that I would like to see in 5 to 10 years' time.

1. More 'realistic' gameplay through the use of Virtual Reality



Of course, this technology is still kind of expensive! Then again, if it were made affordable (like most things are these days), it will be a great form of entertainment!

2. More mobility

Yes, the Internet is becoming more accessible these days, all thanks to Wireless@SG. However, not every place has internet access. For example, our public transports, where people spend majority of their time away from the workplace. It definitely would be prudent to allow commuters to access wireless broadband services while they are on-the-move.

3. Definitely this one. Free Internet for everybody!

Maybe i'm just dreaming about this one. Oh well! It doesn't hurt to dream, right?

4. Last but not least, the cool spy-gadget stuff.





Every boy's dream fantasy. Hahaha.

So concludes the COM125 journey. Keeping a weekly blog has been no doubt tedious, but it does well in recapping the information that we have learnt over the past semester. Also, a big thanks to Abel for making class so entertaining. I wouldn't have the motivation to wake up for 8.30 am class otherwise.

So, till then.

Decimo Entrada: Social Media Part II

So I was thinking...

After what Abel said about FaceBook owning all information that has been posted on its website, I went to read FaceBook's privacy policy. Guess what I found?

5. We always appreciate your feedback or other suggestions about Facebook, but you understand that we may use them without any obligation to compensate you for them (just as you have no obligation to offer them).

So Abel was right.

If that was really the case, that means I wouldn't know who has a hold of my personl information, even though I'd set my privacy status to 'friends only'. Again, it would probably explain why I get so many spam phone calls from property agents and all the whatnot.

A scary thought.

What seemed conflicting about the privacy policy is this...

You own all of the content and information you post on Facebook, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition,

1. For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

If the intellectual property really belonged to me, then FaceBook shouldn't have any rights to sell out my information! Cheats.



The cat is probably right. FaceBook is doing it all wrong. And it's time people actually know about this. I mean, who really does rad the fine print, who does?!

Noveno Entrada: Internet 'Kaypoh-ism'

The Internet has become a part of our daily lives. Astonishing, considering that the 'Net has barely been available to the consumer for like, 2 decades. It is a powerful tool, empowering every single user and giving them a 'voice' to be heard online.

Internet journalism has worked where traditional media has failed. This is because in citizen journalism, every single person can be a 'reporter' of sorts, being able to cover multiple locations real-time. There are also cases where citzen journalism is able to function where traditional media is barred access to. For example, the 2009 Iran elections protests. In such cases, images and stories come straight from the people who are experiencing the events themselves. Thus, there is a feeling of... How should I describe it... Connectedness? To know that the report comes from a normal person just like us, it just makes the report more convincing, no?

Anyway, one of the more popular platforms for online journalism in local context.

The epitome of Singaporean 'kaypoh-ness'

Stomp allows the average Singaporean to post pictures and news that is 'out of this world'. Hmm, dubious if you ask me. I never really visited Stomp until recently, when another project group was presenting something about it. I found that Stomp was full of nothing but nonsensical news, such as this, this, and this. The main focus Stomp is about poor public transport etiquette, teens *ahem* making out in public, and such. Trivial news.

Which makes me wonder. Is Internet journalism really that useful, or is it only a platform for gossip and complaints? Perhaps Singapore is the only country with a platform for such trivial news. Potential research question for anyone taking ESL408 and reading this! :D

Octavo Entrada: Internet Por-Lee-Tics

Back to another post...


My pre-conception of politics was a tool used by politicians to pacify the citizens. And I guess I probably was right. Take a look at this video...



As you can see from this video, all politicians do is to spout pretty speeches and pray that they will come true. Of course, we all know the world doesn't work that way. Till this day, the American economy remains the same, if not worse than the Bush Administration times.

Well, at least online campaigns are cost efficient, meaning the average taxpayer's money doesn't go to waste on useless speeches such as the one mentioned above. It was mentioned that Obama's online campaign on YouTube was watched for 14.5 million hours, and buying 14.5 million hours on broadcast TV costs approximately $47 million. Talk about budget.

Having e-governance websites online helps to save time as well. For example, if I wanted to find information on a certain law that was passed by our government, I could probably run a search on Google which would redirect me to a government body website, that gives me more information on it. I can even find out about what's going on in my own country, though I may be a few thousad kilometres away from home. Some countries have even begun a trial of e-voting for political candidates. Citizens can now vote for their preferred politician from the comforts of their own homes. Such is the power of Internet politics.

Septimo Entrada: Multimedia!

Ok, for the lack of something better to blog about... I shall blog about Apple.



Though i'm not a fan of Apple, I must admit that Apple pod-ucts are well-marketed and advertised. Pardon the pun.



I remember the very first computer I used was a classic Macintosh. It looked something like this:


It definitely is much smaller than the present-day computers! But that's besides the point.

This commercial introduced the original Macintosh to the world.


This ad is simple and presents the Macintosh as a revolutionary tool of its time.







There. These are just a few of the many mac advertisements available on YouTube. Each ad lasts only about 30 seconds, and highlights the advantages it has over its competitor, Windows, such as Mac being virus-free etc. Short and sweet, in my opinion. No wonder so many Windows users are being swayed towards buying a Mac instead!