History of the computer and the internet.

In today’s tutorial we are learning how to research for our exams using things such as the databases supplied on learning at Griffith. These databases are very good sources of information as all articles are looked over twice by experts.

In the lecture we covered some of the history of the computer and internet. Babbage, Turing was the first to begin the creation of the computer. He was aiming to make a machine that calculated and printed mathematical tables. He made the structure for the computer and made parts but he did not finish in his life time as there was not enough input with government funding. Other important people to the creation of the computer was :

Ada Byron, she first conceived of a machine which would be able to compose and play music, produce graphics and be of everyday use. She also conceived the first computer program.

Alan Turing- Enigma machine. devised first working computer. Philosophical paper- Computing Machinery and Intelligence.

Computers were first commercially produced by IBM in the 1950s.

Xerox PARC – early 70’s, developed concepts such as the mouse, the graphical user interface (GUI) and pull-down menus that made the personal computers of today possible and approachable by the general user.

1975: first PC (personal computer) was released.

Bill gates started writing a language called BASIC for the Altair, so that it could be used for simple applications like word processing, basic accounting and some games.

Apple- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started the company.

IBM and Microsoft-

Gary Kildall, the head of Digital Research, Inc, and Bill Gates the owner of Microsoft (the biggest software provider in the valley).


Internet The internet, is a network of networks (what is often called an internetwork).

World Wibe Web WWW - (i) internetworking and (ii) hypertext to make an easy-to-use, but powerful, global system that shares all information accessible as part of a seamless hypertext space. The Web includes all the internet sites that people have made available on servers around the world.

The web is an application of the internet.


· Cyberspace World 1 - the objective material world of natural things and their physical properties
· World 2 - subjective consciousness: intentions, calculations, feelings, thoughts, dreams, memories, etc in individual minds
· World 3 - the public structures produced by living minds interacting with each other and the real world.


Early internet applications.
Email
File Transfer protocol –FTP
Internet Relay Chat IRC
MUD- multi user playing machines.

Wikipedia

In today’s tutorial we mainly focused on key things we learnt in the lecture. We also discussed what our essays will be focused on. I chose to write about the comparison between the film Alphaville and the film matrix and how they are both represented. Points I can focus on is how communication has changed and the impact it has made on people.

In the lecture we discussed Wikipedia and how reliable it is as a source. We learnt Wikipedia can be useful as big source of information but some pages such as one Steven showed us on Lee Cox can bend the truth, or even be completely false. So do not use it on any university assignments!

Create reality, alter truth - matrix

The Matrix study gave us a peep into the future, to see how far technology is going. It makes me wonder whether technology has already taken over our society and if communication technologies changed the perception of truth and reality.

Important notes
Correspondence Theory: Just the facts - observable, mesurable
Coherence Theory: Does it fit together and make sense?
Performative Theory: I do declare
Social Theory: What can we agree on?

Tutorial Task

How do the ideas from Walter Benjamin's "Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" apply to contemporary digital media? Walter Benjamin says that mass production lets everyone view digital media and not just ones selected. Quality is applied to digital media rather than just quantity.

There was a time when "Art" was made by artists who were skilled professionals. Now that anyone with a computer can create things digitally (music, images, videos, etc), what does that mean for "art"? I believe art now is not as significant as it once was. But art is now free to do by anyone as new communication technologies allow people to do so.

Is a photo shopped image "authentic"? No, nothing cropped, changed and airbrushed can be considered real. Do digital "things" have an "aura" (in Benjamin's terms)? I guess so as people do provoke emotions when it comes to music and movies.

Old communication technoligies

In today’s tutorial our task was to use different kinds of search engines rather than Google. Personally I prefer Google over the search engines I used for the questions because it seems to have more availability and you can define your search more clearly. Out of the ones I did use I liked Yahoo as I felt I didn’t have to search through pages of searches to find what I needed. The most popular or looked at pages tend to come first in the searches also the sites that match your keywords. These are the questions and answers for the tutorial blogging task this week:

1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus? Search engine: AltaVista Answer: Onel de Guzman, 24, a computer school student. Source: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html

2. Who invented the paper clip? Search Engine: Yahoo Answer: Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor. Source: www.inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm

3. How did the Ebola virus get its name? Search Engine: AltaVista Answer: It takes its name from the Ebola River in northern Congo (Zaire), where it first emerged in 1976. Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/ebola?cat=health

4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake? Search Engine: All the web Answer: In the eastern Pacific Ocean about 100 miles off the west coast of Chile, South America on May 22, 1960.Source: http://www.extremescience.com/GreatestEarthquake.htm

5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte? Search Engine: Yahoo Answer: 1,073,741,824 Kilobytes, Source: www.wizbit.net/cd-dvd_production_faqs_what_is_a_terabyte.htm

7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it? Search Engine: All the web Answer: It is one of the largest and most sophisticated cyber fraud networks ever constructed and it has affected close to 10 million computers. Source: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/10/the_storm_worm_maelstrom_or_te.html?nav=rss_blog

8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of australia directly, what is the most efficient way? Search Engine: Yahoo Answer: Through www.pm.gov.au

9. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words? Search Engine: Yahoo Answer: It is a computer based term leading on form “Web 1.0” but this time it connects with people rather than just the computer. Source: www.radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/10/web-20-compact-definition.html


In the lecture we discussed Old communication technologies. We started by looking at the earliest form of communication: rock art. We moved on through old communication technologies looking at the origins of the alphabet, print, telegraphs, telephone, phonograph, radio, cinema and television.

We also discussed theorists and semiotics. Semiotics is hard to get your head around but the simplest way to explain it is the study of signs, but not just everyday signs such as street signs or star signs. It adds meaning to the sign such as it is not only a red flag waving but the warning of danger. We also looked over the years from the 1920s to the 1990s on communication and culture studies.