Blog 9: Blue Store or Red Box

Forever my family and I were traditional Blockbuster users but with new methods of accessing videos that has changed.  I do not watch a great deal of movies and when I do it is either a movie that I own or one that has just come out on video and the previews seem very intriguing.  I have several friends that allow me to borrow or rent movies with them off of their Netflix accounts.  Even though I do not own an account I have found that Netflix most regularly has the best selection of new releases and old movies as well and their convenience level is now ridiculous with the options to have videos sent directly to your television or Wii console.  If I was a consistent movie watcher I would most likely subscribe to Netflix.  The only downfall that I would have with that method is that I like to own movies that I could re-watch at a later time which is not the case with Netflix as the movies must be sent back the following day.

Blog 8: Old Time Radio

I do believe that I would have enjoyed listening to old time radio shows.  Especially during a time when there was no television, this form of entertainment would have have been a great way for a family to get together and enjoy something together.  I especially enjoyed the western shows and though most were the stereotypical western plots, I enjoyed them.  It was also quite different to have to picture the plot and settings of the stories in your head as it is being told but that was also somewhat refreshing to put myself in the shoes of people that also had to do that when radio was all they had.  The overall experience was enjoyable but nowadays I think I would rather watch an old western on television if it was available.  I listened to several different genres and felt generally the same way about them.

Blog 7: Napster vs. Itunes

I am definitely partial to Itunes.  I have owned an ipod for several years and have plenty on tracks and even movies on it.  I have limited experience with Napster besides back in the days when you could download tracks for free.  In regards to the pro's and con's of either company and their products I am on Apples side with Itunes.  Phillip Winn commented in his blog on this issue about his disinterest in paying $9.95 a month to rent tracks that you may have had to pay 99 cents for as well and then not have possession of them if you happen to stop your subscription.  The difference in that and Itunes is that no matter what you still own the track after you purchase it.  That is a very important aspect to me and the inconvenience of another monthly bill (especially a 10 dollar one just to rent the tracks I downloaded that month) is not worth it at all.  Other pluses like the 4 extra free tracks from Itunes every month and the convenience of being able to do whatever you want with the tracks that you own outweigh Napsters methods 10 to 1.

Blog 6: The End of Paper?

I think that these e-readers will certainly bring an inevitable halt to the traditional print newspaper industry.  This may not occur within the next 5 years or so but when companies line out some effecient business models and find a way to turn over a hefty profit it will most definitely happen.  The concept is very effecient in itself and of course the environmental role it will play is enormous but companies will have to troubleshoot how they can effectively bring in revenue from their traditional methods of advertising, subscriptions etc.  From the research and the product demos the I have seen the e-readers are an amazing and very complex device in the form of a simple thin sheet of plastic.  They will provide an astounding level of convenience to the reader with the ability to provide several media and book publications with the touch of a finger.  So yes in the near future I believe that paper newspapers will come to a gradual extenction and this new media technology will take the reins, as it should. 

Blog 5: Lets Ban Books

This is ridiculous.  For not only the sake of the First Amendment and the freedom of speech but for schools and the power to educate by use of books.  This censorship against a document that has been in existence for two hundred years is clearly lacking the usage of common sense and reason.  If words have been published in something as well known as a Merriam-Webster's dictionary for that long and if they were put there in the first place for that matter there had to have been some reasonable application for it.  If parents want their children not to see curse words in the dictionary then they should do whatever they think suiting to do so but banning a dictionary is outright ludicrous.  Maybe my thoughts are not as sensitive towards parents and their relationships with their children, and maybe that is because I do not yet have children but I was raised in a generation where it was still okay to get a slap on the wrist for not taking your hat off at the table or saying a curse word you found in the dictionary.  That is sometimes what it takes to teach right from wrong and as a child I knew what that was.  But nowadays even that is "banned".  I believe that if children are raised to know what is a bad word and why it is not to be said, that that is much more conducive to preventing misbehavior than banning a book for example that may have a couple of those words or even more ridiculously a dictionary.
-Chris C

Blog 4: Poor Richard

If Passion drives, let Reason hold the reins.

This line comes from Benjamin Franklin's "Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard's Almanack".  This excerpt has a very simple meaning or message but allows the observer to place what in their life really relates to it.  Personally I can see myself as a fairly passionate person in that I love what I do and the people that stand behind me whether that be my amazing family or my loving girlfriend who puts up with a long distance relationship with me everyday.  I believe that passion and determination are very important characteristics that every individual should place highly in their priorities but what Benjamin Franklin said about passion and the direction that one steers his passion is very important.  Being passionate about anything can in a way become harmful if overdone to the point where reason is not considered.  Franklin may have capitalized the words "Passion" and "Reason" for in this context he is referring to them as persons driving a coach or wagon.  They are italicized because obviously they are not simply names but emotions or actions.  If passion is what drives ones thoughts and actions (the coach in this instance) then he needs to make sure reason is in the driver seat steering it in a beneficial direction.  Always be reasonable even when your emotions are overwhelming.
-Chris C

Social Interaction

The subject issue that this blog covers is something that I have touched on several times in the few before and is something that I feel strongly about.  The article by Delgado, "The Internet and Social Interaction" portrays a very similar outlook as mine in regards to the internet and its effects on users and their social interactions with others.  She mentioned several times toward the end of her article that there are definite benefits to the availability and convenience of communication methods like cell phones and texting but those things cannot in the least replace the personal interaction between another being.  Facebook and others can reunite long lost friends and high school buddies but if you had the opportunity to see someone like that would you choose rather to instant message them over the internet?  No way!  At least not me.  I do not think that the internet necessarily isolates individuals from real social interaction but I think that Delgado put it very well in her statement, "How do humans bond and know each other when they are not within the physical presence of who we genuinely are; living and breathing and seeing each other interact with the world around us".  The internet can provide us an enormous amount of convenience and information, when in this day in age some people cannot use conventional methods of media, and a source of marketing especially but it will never be a replacement for a man-to-man interaction and conversation between individuals.  For instance, internet means of communication can give me the opportunity to speak to my great grandmother in New York and even maybe get to see her face, but there is nothing that can replace being able to hug her and talk to her face to face.
-Chris C