What is the future of digital cultures?

There have been many advancements that have happened over the decades and I think that the world should brace itself for a few more.

As computer games allow us to become more and more a part of them, with the invention of Xbox Kinect and PlayStation Move it is a wonder what they will come up with next. Personally, i feel that they will go even further with that technology especially since we have surround sound  and cinema home systems already available. They could introduce games that are projected into your living room so that you are actually within the game's environment and you are surrounded by others.

I think that surveillance will also become a bigger issue than it already is now. The Daily Mail recently released an article stating that there is one CCTV camera for every 32 people in the UK.

This is a picture of a drone that could be in our skies in the near future if the Home Office gets their way. They have proposed that unmanned drones should be in the sky looking down onto the streets of Britain as well as CCTV cameras.  This is an example of how the fictional book 1984 is becoming more and more likely. As I outlined in my privacy blog, I don't think that we'll have that much privacy for much longer especially if the government now wants to have drones in the sky watching our every moves.

I think there are going to be many digital advancements in the future, though the one that really worries me the most is surveillance. Surely we are entitled to some privacy. We already have too many cameras watching our every move, do we really need anymore?

Globalisation: how far has it gone?

“We have also witnessed the rise and globalization of the 'brand'. It isn't just that large corporations operate across many different countries - they have also developed and marketed products that could be just as well sold in Peking as in Washington. Brands like Coca Cola, Nike, Sony, and a host of others have become part of the fabric of vast numbers of people's lives" -  http://www.infed.org/biblio/globalization.htm

Brands like McDonalds and Coca Cola are all over the world. Where ever you go you are likely to be able to find both very quickly. The yellow M is a trademark that most of the world will be aware of and visit regularly. But how did it happen?

Trade has always been something that has happened between countries. For example, England and India with tea. But, we have also learnt to copy the cultural foods of others too. There are many different cusines available on the high streets and they are a fine example of globalisation and how far it has gone.

Whenever there is a world tournament there are recognisable companies that sponsor them. For example, with football tournaments there is always a beer company as well as many food chains. They also supply many of the fast food that can be eaten by the people who attend the matches. This is an example of glabalisation because in countries far away from where the companies originate from, people are able to get american beer and food.
Companies also chose to go out to poorer countries because they can get away with paying the workers less money. This proves to be profitable for them because they gain most of the money that people pay to get their products.

Globalisation has definetely gone far in the world. Companies has truly gone worldwide and you could probably find your favourite big fast food chain where ever you are in the world now. In such a short time this has happened. What will the future be like?

Privacy: does it really exist these days?

How often do we turn a corner and see one of these?

In my first blog I wrote about the UK turning into a Big Brother society with the amount of surveillance that we have. But, there is more to it than just CCTV.

Websites, the Sainsbury's Nectar card and the Tesco Clubcard and any other store cards can be seen as ways of surveillance too. They log everything that the customer buys and then sends them suggestions according to the things they have purchased.

Amazon has a recommending service which basically shows a list of things that are similar to something you have recently bought or looked at. Sainsbury's and Tesco send you vouchers for stuff that you buy and they give you points and money off as long as you buy the same things again.

You do not even have privacy in your own home as Google even targets people because it logs what you've been searching and then it sends you adverts catered to you. There is no getting away from the adverts targeting.

Anywhere that you go is tracked by CCTV. UK has the highest amount of CCTV cameras in the world alone. Is it really right that we're watched all the time? Should there be a limit to which we should be surveyed.

Although surveillance helps solve crimes and keep people safe from them, it can also cause controversy. There was recently a news story which explored the vast amount of CCTV in schools and whether it was really necessary.

I think that privacy within our own homes is starting to become less apparent. Even though we're not watched just yet, there is still the feeling that whatever you do someone will know about it. With the internet being so watchful as it is, it is only too easy to suggest that one day in the future people will not have any privacy at all especially as technology advances even more.

What are the benefits of Open Source?

Open Source allows software to become widely available to everyone, free of charge. For example, instead of everyone only having the choice of Microsoft as their operating system they can have the free Linux operating system. It is free to use and accessible to more or less anyone.

Linux is being favoured over Microsoft, especially in the poorer countries because of its availability. For example, Brazil are using Open Source technology in companies, universities and other industries. The availability of the software allows many companies to work on the same project at a time and it inspires competition. Without access to this free software, poorer countries like Brazil would have no way to get on board of the technological advancements. It allows them to connect with the world but do it in a way that means they aren't spending money that they don't have.

Another big company that is affected by the freedom of Open Source is Apple. Whilst many people do use iTunes and the app store many people also don't. There are plenty of places on the internet where you can download music, albeit legal or not, you can still do it without using iTunes. Users of Android phones also use other app stores to download their apps. Although they get it free and don't have to pay any subscription to create their own material and share it, it is arguably not as safe or regulated as the Apple app store. However, it is still a place that does not give to the Apple corporation.

Open source is very beneficial to people who do  not want to pay for software that is just as good and professional as Microsoft and Apple. It allows freedom of information, without it being copyrighted to anyone and all Open Source material is available in the public domain. It gives poorer countries/people/families a chance to get up to date with technology and it can give businesses software that it requires whilst creating competition between them on projects. Best of all though, it is free!

Why do people use cheats to advance in video games?

There are thousands of websites that have cheat codes for levels and various unlocks on all types of games. A gamer doesn't have to endure the process of the game, instead they can access all the parts of the games that others would work for hours to get to.

Computer games are full of challenges and are often very long winded. From the ones that I have experienced, I have completely very few of them. The temptatation to cheat to access the next level is always at the back of my mind whenever I play one. The problem with games being so long winded is that it can get boring. If you fail a challenge or a level you have to go back and do it again and as the game gets considerably harder you end up repeating them more often. Therefore, a cheat is an easy option.

However, there are other ways that you can cheat instead of just simply getting codes. For example aimbots allow the player to have an advantage over others when shooting. They do not need to target because the bot will just do it for them, the user simply just has to press the 'fire' button. Although it's not the same as gainig codes to complete levels it is still a cheat that majorly affects the game.

Instead of playing the game as the manufacturer intended, you are playing the game with your own rules when you cheat. The purpose of the games are the challenges and by overriding them with the cheats you are defeating the object of having th game in the first place.

Apart from the reason that games get boring, I think that people use cheats to get ahead in games and be better than others who play it. League tables and acheivements are something that are publicised with things such as Xbox Live and the Playstation Network.

Personally I would rather accept the challenges that the game designers have given me rather than override their hard work with a code that will instantly get me past a level.

Are games different realms within this world?

Whenever you sit down and play any time of game, whether it be a board game or a video game you enter a different environment and, with some games, a different world or universe altogether. 

"The arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, etc., are all in form and function play-grounds, i.e. forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round, hallowed, within which special rules obtain. All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart.” - Johan Huizinga, Homo Ludens (pg 10)

Much like any activity, they require your full attention. Games suck you into their own world and you become immersed in them. You become the characters and become part of the game. Many computer games allow you to enter a different virtual world altogether. The games that are made to coincide with fantasy and sci fi films that are in the mainstream media really let the player experience different worlds. For example in Star Wars games you can be your favourite characters and experiment with the light and dark side of the Force or fly the spaceships that the characters in the films do.
Games could be seen as different realms within this world because they are easy to acess and easy to get out of yet they are completely different environments with different rules and regulations.The player can transform themselves into someone they would like to be but can't because it isn't possible in real life. An example that can be used to illustrate the idea of a realm within the world is that of the witches realm in the TV show Sabrina: The Teenage Witch Although it is not a game, it presents us with the idea that different places can exist within one world, even if it is a fantasy one.

I believe that we do enter different places when we play games. The level in which people get immersed and obbsessed and addicted to games proves that it means something to people. Some players take their characters seriously on games online games such as World of Warcraft (WOW). They definately enter a different community altogether which not everyone has access to. Furthermore, they learn to fully function in the virtual world as well as the real world.

Therefore, I believe that games are different realms because of the strength of immersion and how easy it is too become addicted to a game and really care about what happens to your avatar.

Are physical books better than reading literature from a technologial device?

Annie Proulx once said that "no one is ever gonna sit down on a twitchy little screen ever" to read a piece of literature. But, she was wrong. The internet has allowed us to read books online and find many extracts on sites like google books. Technology has gone even further and given us handheld gadgets to read books from. For example we have the Kindle and the iPad to name just a few.

Even though the physical book has been around for years, technology allows our libraries to evolve. You can carry your whole library around with you and read anytime you want without the hassle of carrying various books with you.

What is better though, an actual book or an electronic version?

Personally the feel of an actual book with actual pages is something that cannot be replicated when reading from a screen. The action of turning pages and using bookmarks has been practiced for years. By using something like a Kindle, there is no physical interaction apart from touching the screen to turn a page.

On the other hand, with the Kindle you can highlight words that you are unsure about and it gives you a definition. If you're reading a book and you don't understand a word, you have to reach for another book (the dictionary) and physically look it up. Carrying a Kindle around is also much lighter than carrying some books around. Furthermore, you can store lots of novels onto the Kindle.

Conclusively though, I think that reading from an actual book is better than something like the Kindle because authors write for books, not for electronic devices. Also, when you read you can get lost in the story and play the scenarios of the book in your head. I'm not sure if this could be done or if you could get the same effect if you were reading from an electronical tablet device