In week 10 Peter and Tom gave a presentation on Peer To Peer File Sharing. First I want to say that their presentation was really really good. It was interesting, well elaborated and they spoke to the audience and didn´t read their text.
The whole Peer To Peer thing is newish to me. A short time ago I started to use Skype. It´s a brilliant invention, espacially when you´re abroad and you want to telephone for free. But when I started to use Skype here in Australia I was surprised how much influence Skype has on my internet bill and on the internet speed respectively. Our landlord told us that we have 15 GB for upload and download and that 15 GB must be enough for us. When we should cross the 15 GB limit we would be degraded to modem speed. In the middle of the month we were already degraded. It was horrible. I underrated how I am dependent on the internet.
In Germany we pay for the speed of the internet. The faster your internet is the more you have to pay. But there is no limit in up- and download.
When the internet guy installed the modem he even told us a website where we can download songs. He is downloading the whole day. So I thought that downloading music is legal in this country. J Now I know better. In Germany it´s illegal as well. Furthermore campaign creates an atmosphere of anxiaty that one day the police will knock on your door and arrest you for the illegal download of music. On the one hand I can understand the approach but on the other hand the illegal download of music is fast and cheap, very cheap. J When I realy love the music of a musician I buy the album in a shop because I want to have a real disc and because I want to support this musician. But when I like just one song of an artist I don´t want to spend so much money on his album. Then I prefer to download it – illegal of course.
06.10.2008
18.09.2008
week 8
Instant Messaging, Internet Relay Chat, Skype. That was the topic of our last session. And these are very important keywords for an overseas student like me.
The first time I was for a longer period abroad was in 2004. At that time I called my family with special phone cards which made it cheaper to call from Italy to Germany. My friends got mails and both family and friends got from time to time postcards and letters from me. Because I didn´t want to make the internet bill of my hostfamily so expensive, first I wrote my mails with winword before I went online to mail them – very complicated.
This time it´s different. I skype regularly with my family and friends, sometimes with video sometimes without video. It´s a cheap alternative to calling. My room mate and I, we have a homepage where our friends can read what happened the last time and see some images of our adventures. I write postcards, mails, sms, I chat with friends or post on the facebook/studivz pages of them. But I don´t write letters anymore. It´s a pity because letters are very nice. I have still boxes full of letters of my first stay abroad. Letters are very special: the content is much more deeper and more important than the content of postcards or mails. People think longer about what they will write than they do when they write mails. The handwriting is unique and tells you a lot about the adresser – male or female? Old or young? Is it usual white paper or is it colourful? Maybe with some drawings? Put the author some perfume on it? A letter is a visual and haptic experience, but it can be an olfactory experience as well.
To my 20th birthday I got a letter from a very very close friend. On the envelope stood ´Open carefully!´. How could I open a letter otherwise? I opened it…carefully, but not in the way my friend wanted me to. In the end my floor was full of confetti. To open a special letter can be an experience that you will never forget. But to open a mail feels always the same. Nothing special, nothing unique about it. It´s also easier to delete a mail than to throw a letter away, especially when it´s handwritten. As fast as you can write a mail, sms etc as fast you can delete it. But a letter: somebody took time to write it, it took time to get to the addressee. It´s not so easy to throw a letter away. What makes them to very good souvernirs.
The first time I was for a longer period abroad was in 2004. At that time I called my family with special phone cards which made it cheaper to call from Italy to Germany. My friends got mails and both family and friends got from time to time postcards and letters from me. Because I didn´t want to make the internet bill of my hostfamily so expensive, first I wrote my mails with winword before I went online to mail them – very complicated.
This time it´s different. I skype regularly with my family and friends, sometimes with video sometimes without video. It´s a cheap alternative to calling. My room mate and I, we have a homepage where our friends can read what happened the last time and see some images of our adventures. I write postcards, mails, sms, I chat with friends or post on the facebook/studivz pages of them. But I don´t write letters anymore. It´s a pity because letters are very nice. I have still boxes full of letters of my first stay abroad. Letters are very special: the content is much more deeper and more important than the content of postcards or mails. People think longer about what they will write than they do when they write mails. The handwriting is unique and tells you a lot about the adresser – male or female? Old or young? Is it usual white paper or is it colourful? Maybe with some drawings? Put the author some perfume on it? A letter is a visual and haptic experience, but it can be an olfactory experience as well.
To my 20th birthday I got a letter from a very very close friend. On the envelope stood ´Open carefully!´. How could I open a letter otherwise? I opened it…carefully, but not in the way my friend wanted me to. In the end my floor was full of confetti. To open a special letter can be an experience that you will never forget. But to open a mail feels always the same. Nothing special, nothing unique about it. It´s also easier to delete a mail than to throw a letter away, especially when it´s handwritten. As fast as you can write a mail, sms etc as fast you can delete it. But a letter: somebody took time to write it, it took time to get to the addressee. It´s not so easy to throw a letter away. What makes them to very good souvernirs.
03.09.2008
Week 6
Beeb beeb, beeb beeb…the pinking comes from my mobile phone. I use it as an alarm-clock. Consequently my mobile phone was the whole night on. Other people put their cell phones off when they go to bed but not me. In case of an emergency I want to be accessible. But what is an emergency? For my friends it´s an emergency when they are on a party and I am not. So they call me in the middle of the night although I am sleeping. And five minutes later they call the second time and again and again…then I put my celly off.
I don´t know how many people have the number of my cell phone but they are a lot. In comparison there are just a few people who have the number of my landline phone, just family members and some very close friends. The reason: my home is my privat zone. When I want to get away from it all I can put my mobile phone off or in a silent modus. Then I am just accessable for my kith and kin.
My celly shows me who is calling: Is it a friend? My brother? Or my boss? In Germany I had a side job. My boss knew that I am a student and that I have a lot of stuff to prepare for my classes. He called me all the same. Because it´s so hard to say NO to somebody I often didn´t answer the phone. Later I told him that I was in class or that I was in the gymnasium and that I couln´t answer the phone.
Almost everybody has a cell phone and some people have more than one. In conclusion many people (especially bosses) expect that you are always achievable. In former times you were half the day on the job and half the day off the joby. That´s over. Nowadays you are ALWAYS on the job. Because you are always accessable – independent where you are and what you are doing. A friend told me that her boss even called her when she and her husband were…(how Peter would say) friendly to each other.
Okay, when I have an important concern I expect as well that the other person answers the telephone. And I wonder why this person has a mobile phone when he/she doesn´t answer the phone. I see, I should be appriciative of it. Espacially because I don´t always answer the phone as well. And I don´t want to desturb somebody in that way her boss interrupted my friend and her husband.
I don´t know how many people have the number of my cell phone but they are a lot. In comparison there are just a few people who have the number of my landline phone, just family members and some very close friends. The reason: my home is my privat zone. When I want to get away from it all I can put my mobile phone off or in a silent modus. Then I am just accessable for my kith and kin.
My celly shows me who is calling: Is it a friend? My brother? Or my boss? In Germany I had a side job. My boss knew that I am a student and that I have a lot of stuff to prepare for my classes. He called me all the same. Because it´s so hard to say NO to somebody I often didn´t answer the phone. Later I told him that I was in class or that I was in the gymnasium and that I couln´t answer the phone.
Almost everybody has a cell phone and some people have more than one. In conclusion many people (especially bosses) expect that you are always achievable. In former times you were half the day on the job and half the day off the joby. That´s over. Nowadays you are ALWAYS on the job. Because you are always accessable – independent where you are and what you are doing. A friend told me that her boss even called her when she and her husband were…(how Peter would say) friendly to each other.
Okay, when I have an important concern I expect as well that the other person answers the telephone. And I wonder why this person has a mobile phone when he/she doesn´t answer the phone. I see, I should be appriciative of it. Espacially because I don´t always answer the phone as well. And I don´t want to desturb somebody in that way her boss interrupted my friend and her husband.
27.08.2008
Week 5
In our last session we talked about identity – about selfhood. Why do we behave how we behave? Why do we think what we think? Why are we who we are?
There are different approaches about this topic:
Trait theorists think that every person has unique characteristics. His character is unchangeable and authentic. He has an honest soul. He behaves always in the same way. Honesty sounds good. But that would mean that we are how we are and that we can not change our character, that we have no influence on it. Consequently the system of rehabilitation of criminals is absurd and senseless. For me it´s unimaginable that all the experience that we make in our lives that they have no effect on us. In my opinion almost everybody says about himself that some specific experience influenced not only his life but above all his character.
Another theory about the identity is the role theory. His ambassadors think that everybody has different personas. We perform like actors. I am a student, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a neighbour etc. Depending on my role my behaviour changes. As a daughter I am acting in another way as I behave as a friend. My behaviour is a response to the social circumstances. There is no doubt about it that in different situations I act in different ways. But which persona is the “real” – the authentic self? I remember a situation: it was New Year´s Eve, I were on a party with some friends. We danced, drunk, laughed and had a lot of fun. But then somebody tapped me on the shoulder: my older broughter. It was totally weird. His little sister is shy, calm and well-behaved. And there were I with a drink in my hand telling dirty jokes.In my opinion Freud´s model of personality is a good combination of the role theory and the trait theory. In his model our self consist of three elements: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is unconscious and includes of the instinctive and primitiv behaviours. This component is present from birth. The superego on the other hand is the result of the social circumstances, the norms and values of our society. And the ego stands between the other both and has to decide whose wishes are more important. I know this antagonism. Do you know it?
There are different approaches about this topic:
Trait theorists think that every person has unique characteristics. His character is unchangeable and authentic. He has an honest soul. He behaves always in the same way. Honesty sounds good. But that would mean that we are how we are and that we can not change our character, that we have no influence on it. Consequently the system of rehabilitation of criminals is absurd and senseless. For me it´s unimaginable that all the experience that we make in our lives that they have no effect on us. In my opinion almost everybody says about himself that some specific experience influenced not only his life but above all his character.
Another theory about the identity is the role theory. His ambassadors think that everybody has different personas. We perform like actors. I am a student, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a neighbour etc. Depending on my role my behaviour changes. As a daughter I am acting in another way as I behave as a friend. My behaviour is a response to the social circumstances. There is no doubt about it that in different situations I act in different ways. But which persona is the “real” – the authentic self? I remember a situation: it was New Year´s Eve, I were on a party with some friends. We danced, drunk, laughed and had a lot of fun. But then somebody tapped me on the shoulder: my older broughter. It was totally weird. His little sister is shy, calm and well-behaved. And there were I with a drink in my hand telling dirty jokes.In my opinion Freud´s model of personality is a good combination of the role theory and the trait theory. In his model our self consist of three elements: the id, the ego and the superego. The id is unconscious and includes of the instinctive and primitiv behaviours. This component is present from birth. The superego on the other hand is the result of the social circumstances, the norms and values of our society. And the ego stands between the other both and has to decide whose wishes are more important. I know this antagonism. Do you know it?
13.08.2008
Week 3
For tomorrow´s session we should prepare two readings: “As We May Think” by Vannevar Bush and “Sociable Media” by Judith Donath.
I read the first text two times. For me it was not so easy to understand. But the language was not the only reason. It was written in 1945, it´s a historical document. But during reading I forgot about this fact because Bush had ideas about future invention which came more or less true. When in these days somebody would write down these kind of thoughts it would be boring and uninteresting. But Bush had these ideas in 1945! He didn´s know mobile phones, computers, digital cameras etc…
The other reading “Sociable Media” was for me very interesting. It´s about the social aspect of communication especially communication via a medium. That´s what Donath calls mediated communication. It inclueds every communication which is not face-to-face but via every sort of medium: written letters, telephone calls, email, skype etc.
When I talk to somebody I don´s get even information through words, it´s also the tone of voice, the gesture of the other person, his clothes and the facial expression. Maybe I have prejudices when I have all these information. But on the other hand when I don´t see all these things - for example when I´m chatting with the other person – I also don´t see if the other person is sad or is smiling or maybe laying. I think that a good communication incluedes all these aspects. Thank God for skype: I can mediated communicate with my friends and relatives thousands of kilometers away from me without missing their tone of voice or their smile. Even if the smile comes a few seconds after the joke…
Although communication technologies are often developed within the context of business they became a fixed part of almost everybody´s private life. To be social, to communicate with each other is a part of our nature. And on a planet that geografically is very big modern communication technologies make it possible to stay in contact with people all over the world. And that in a much more cheaper and faster way than visiting.
I read the first text two times. For me it was not so easy to understand. But the language was not the only reason. It was written in 1945, it´s a historical document. But during reading I forgot about this fact because Bush had ideas about future invention which came more or less true. When in these days somebody would write down these kind of thoughts it would be boring and uninteresting. But Bush had these ideas in 1945! He didn´s know mobile phones, computers, digital cameras etc…
The other reading “Sociable Media” was for me very interesting. It´s about the social aspect of communication especially communication via a medium. That´s what Donath calls mediated communication. It inclueds every communication which is not face-to-face but via every sort of medium: written letters, telephone calls, email, skype etc.
When I talk to somebody I don´s get even information through words, it´s also the tone of voice, the gesture of the other person, his clothes and the facial expression. Maybe I have prejudices when I have all these information. But on the other hand when I don´t see all these things - for example when I´m chatting with the other person – I also don´t see if the other person is sad or is smiling or maybe laying. I think that a good communication incluedes all these aspects. Thank God for skype: I can mediated communicate with my friends and relatives thousands of kilometers away from me without missing their tone of voice or their smile. Even if the smile comes a few seconds after the joke…
Although communication technologies are often developed within the context of business they became a fixed part of almost everybody´s private life. To be social, to communicate with each other is a part of our nature. And on a planet that geografically is very big modern communication technologies make it possible to stay in contact with people all over the world. And that in a much more cheaper and faster way than visiting.
06.08.2008
week 1 & 2
Numbers & Waves
10100001011 – hard to understand that these are more than just numbers, that they have a meaning: “hello”
A looong time ago the world was “analogue”. Every information was transported through waves. But now in the digital century everything consists of 1s and 0s – on or off. Transportation of information is easier and faster. There is more place for music on a compact disc than on a cassette. :-)
Western Eye
Because our “western eye” is used to read from left to right and from top to buttom the most important things on websites are in the left corner: the logo, log in etc.
But in other cultures the concept of websites is different. Peter showed us an Asian website. Totally interesting, for me the site seemed to be very confusing because my eyes are used to another “style”.
But when the most important things are placed at the top why do I have to scroll down at webCT to write my passwort? My passwort is important, isn´t it? Or is the webCT from another culture?
'As we may think'
I was really surprised last week that just three or four persons had read the text 'As we may think' espescially because I was one of these persons. I have to say that I understood just about 30 percent of it. There are two reasons: English is not my first language and I am no insider. And the 30 percent that I have understood….I can´t remember. It´s too long ago.
I am wondering how many people will read the text for tomorrow. And will I be one of them?
10100001011 – hard to understand that these are more than just numbers, that they have a meaning: “hello”
A looong time ago the world was “analogue”. Every information was transported through waves. But now in the digital century everything consists of 1s and 0s – on or off. Transportation of information is easier and faster. There is more place for music on a compact disc than on a cassette. :-)
Western Eye
Because our “western eye” is used to read from left to right and from top to buttom the most important things on websites are in the left corner: the logo, log in etc.
But in other cultures the concept of websites is different. Peter showed us an Asian website. Totally interesting, for me the site seemed to be very confusing because my eyes are used to another “style”.
But when the most important things are placed at the top why do I have to scroll down at webCT to write my passwort? My passwort is important, isn´t it? Or is the webCT from another culture?
'As we may think'
I was really surprised last week that just three or four persons had read the text 'As we may think' espescially because I was one of these persons. I have to say that I understood just about 30 percent of it. There are two reasons: English is not my first language and I am no insider. And the 30 percent that I have understood….I can´t remember. It´s too long ago.
I am wondering how many people will read the text for tomorrow. And will I be one of them?
sorry, I´m a tourist...
First I want to excuse my bad English. I am an international student from Germany (but born in Poland) and English is my second language (or my third?) so I will make a lot of mistakes. Nevertheless I hope you will understand what I try to tell you!
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