Discussion Questions

1. Would you replace your phone with VoIP? Or do you think it is too risky at this early state?
2. As we went from analog to digital, will VoIP completely take over as digital did?
3. Will VoIP take over the cellphone business, or will cellphones incorporate VoIP capabilities?

VoIP February 26th

VoIP sounds like an amazing new tool. Once people catch on to this, it is going to hit bigtime. I think phone and cable companies are doomed, judging by the characteristics of voip. It can do everything and more, and saves so much money. That is what America seems to be all about- money money money! So something like voip is great for this kind of group. It will make it so much easier to call and talk to people in far away places. I have family in Guam, Japan, Hawaii, New York, Conneticut, Maryland, and Arizona. I feel like I barely know them anymore because I rarel see them or talk to them. Obviously with cell phones these days, it is easier to call within the US, but out of the states costs an arm and a leg! Also, my mother travels a lot, currently exploring India (I hope) but I have not been able to talk to her because it is so dang expensive, so I don't even know how she is doing. If we were savvy with computers and voip, we could be talking and she could be telling me all about her trip.
When this gets out into the open and people realize how easy and inexpensive it is, there will be no more landlines at houses, and probably no more cell phones. This is going to kill some companies who are not getting thier feet wet with voip. As they said in the article, voip can easily replace all cable and telephones with ease, and people will love it. It is a great idea, and I am anxious to see how and when this really comes about. After reading the article, I really want to investigate this more and see what it's all about. The article was very technical information, but I would like to see what the companies have to say. See? This is already giving my phone company a challenge, because I want to replace it with voip.
Overall, voip sounds amazing and I believe that in a short time, phone companies will be done for.

Discussion Questions

Why do I always forget to post these with my original post?

1. I can think of many places a person could go do schoolwork, etc. using the internet. How many can you think of?
2. Can you think of a way to still keep the providers paid, but not charge so much for thier service?
3. Do these "rural communities" even want these services? Are they accepting to this technology?

February 22nd Post

Wow, I may get myself into trouble here but I seem to have a very different view of things. I look at the internet and cyberspace as a luxury. It's like having a CD player and radio in your car, a DVD player and a TV in your home. Yes, it is a public space and public information, but so its radio and television. Anyone can listen to it or watch it, if they have the right tools.
Don't get me wrong, I think internet is way too expensive and it hurts my pocket as well as others. I just don't think it is something that should be free. You don't see people out on the streets giving away free television sets so people can watch the news at home. It's not like the internet is not accessible to all either. All libraries that I know of have tons of computers with internet access, as well as wireless connections. A library card costs nothing, so using the internet costs nothing except your gas money or bus fare on your way there.
I feel like I am being so rude and maybe not considerate to others, but I feel that luxuries such as the internet should be costly enough for the provider to make a profit. I suppose I am slightly biased... my boyfriend has an awesome job as a sales manager and representative for a local internet company. He works his little butt off to pay the bills and live a good life. I think people in the internet industry work extremely hard, and without charging for their services, how will they live their lives? It reminds me of the open software reading we did. Everyone who works hard for something should receive their rewards.

Extra Credit 2-13-06

Wow! I am so impressed and surprised at this article. First of all, I think it is awesome that Kathy took the stances she did. For me, it would be incredibly difficult to take a neutral stance in such a controversial subject. I have a hard time letting go of my biased opinion, especially when it comes to George Bush.
I found it interesting that the John Kerry website was more easily navigated than George Bush's site, it seems like they would have worked a little harder or thought more about the target audience. The election was so critical and close to a tie, that one would think they would both be doing everything they could to take voters on their side.
Comparing two things can very difficult, because you have to take all perspectives and information to make it credible. I think Kathy did a great job comparing the two with similarities as well as differences. It's nice to see a neutral, credible site once in a while. That doesn't come across very often.

Discussion Questions

1. Would politics be different if the United States was not so technology savvy?
2. Does news on the internet (blogs, news sites, etc.) change peoples' minds about their stance on a political issue? Or does it just give them more information about the topic?
3. In one of the readings they did their studies on Undergraduates. I would like to know who out of our class of undergrads gets their political knowledge from the internet.

Internet and Politics

The internet has come so far, it’s no longer just for email and research. Now there is news 24/7, and it’s so dependable. Imagine what we would do without the internet in times that we need news? With a newspaper, one would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened today. If you want to know about the elections or something going on right now, it’s so much easier. Just go onto Google News or CNN and you can know what happened four minutes ago. I think it is great and it helps people get into the current standings of the country, and the world as well.
In the second article, they say, "based on a study of undergraduates, found that Internet news sources supplement print media and they appear to substitute for television entertainment." This so great because the internet is pulling people from the TV. I am pretty anti-TV because I think it is so wasteful and a poor source of entertainment. It takes no thought or knowledge to watch TV, you just sit and listen and wait to hear what you want to hear or wait to see the show you want. Humans are so smart and creative, I’d think they would realize what a waste of mind space and time it is. I love the fact that the internet and politics are taking over peoples’ TV watching time because there is real, important information right there. You find what you want and actively read about it, then you can be done.
The internet has a huge impact on politics because everything going on is updated so frequently. We can know anything and everything in minutes, which is especially important for campaigns. (Hey, we knew our fellow Vice President Dick Cheney shot his friend while hunting about 8 minutes after it happened! Wow, that was fun to read about.)
We are in the year 2006, where everything has to be smaller, better, and faster. The internet allows us to accomplish these things very easily, and become more knowledgeable at the same time.

Discussion Questions

1. Do you think blogs are more or less credible than the media?
2. Where do you see blogging going in the future? Will it disipate or turn into something huge?
3. Because one blogs publicly, does that make them a journalist? What defines a journalist?

Blog-a-licious: Week 6

It is so hard to watch the news, read the newspaper, or believe headlines anywhere. The "news" is so biased by journalists, editors, and government that it is just something that you have to think might not be true. Nothing is real news anymore, and I think that includes blogs. Obviously they are not very credible and they may be false or exaggerated. But they are real people who in most cases are not being paid for making their story interesting. I look at blogs as another source for information. First there were newspapers that circled the US, then TV news, then internet news, and now there are blogs. They are no more or less credible then other news sources, we are all just people telling what happened through our own eyes, and obviously ways will change as the world goes on.