Chapters 8-10

The first thing I want to say is I love the picture of the cell phone on page 167. Oh analog phones, where have you gone?


With that said, I will proceed on with my thoughts on Chapter 8. It was interesting to read about the change in the business world with the modernization of technology. Back before laptops, Blackberries, Treos and other PDAs, the computer was only in the office. Email might have been used but the only way to get a hold of someone was to call and leave a message with the secretary. The reply would be the same day or a few days later depending on what it was. Documents were exchanged physically through the in/out box on the desk. Now with all of the technology we have today, all of these things can be done in the office, at the coffee shop or at home. Email, teleconferencing and groupware are a few things that make life in the business world a little easier and more accessible to associates on the other side of the country or the globe.

On to my favorite chapter so far...online games. I love to play games online and and video games in general and reading a short history about it was cool. I still have our Atari 2600 and it works. I remember playing games like "Pitfall", "Ice Hockey", "Barnstormer" and so on for hours and hours. We eventually got a Nintendo (which I still have and it works too). I plugged in my Atari for fun a few years ago and I was blown away at how basic everything was. I then appreciated the fact that that's where my gaming started and how I've seen gaming progress like older folks have seen cars go from the Model T to what we have today. OK, maybe it was a bad comparison but it makes sense to me.

Besides games like "Slingo", I haven't played too many multi-player online games. It's been a while since I've played it but when I would spend hours playing it, I got to know the people in the chat below the game. We we courteous to each other when someone won or got a lot of points taken away by the devil guy. It was like I made new friends just for that time I played. I would love to play a multi-player game in which I could choose an avatar and be in a whole different world communicating to others. I think I would probably take on a different persona using an avatar.

It was funny when I read about the personality types and found myself identifying with the Explorers. I am all about it. Whether it's "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", "Chibi Robo" or "Tony Hawk's Underground" I find myself roaming around more than I am actually completing the tasks. I love to explore and find the hidden things. It might annoy some but eventually I get around to actually playing the game. If I ever played "WoW" or something similar, that's where you'd find me - out and about not caring about killing or being killed, I'd be exploring.

Chapter 10 made me think of a few friends who used the computer as a learning tool. I have a friend who is either taking classes or finished taking classes online and she really liked it. I really didn't understand at first how one can take online classes and actually keep on task but after she explained it to me it sounded like a pretty cool thing. My other friend used a program during nursing school to test herself on the NCLEX information. It kept time and your score during all of the practice tests giving you feedback and answers for the incorrect ones. It really prepared her for the actual test by going over questions that were similar to the actual ones she would be presented with. I like the idea of being connected with my classmates through the MySpace exercise. Even though it is a temporary thing, we can help each other out and talk about school things and such with the bulletin board.

The idea of the Internet not being the best place to research made me want to spend more time at the library. I like books. I like research. I prefer researching with actual physical books because I know my sources are trusted and credible. I have researched online before while trying to write papers and it's easy and at the same time it's hard. I get easily distracted if I am trying to do homework while online. For instance right now I have 3 tabs open in Firefox. I might pause while typing and check MySpace, Facebook or watch a video on YouTube. Some could say I have a short attention span while I say I like to play online while conducting my business.

When I read the section about plagiarism I recall my early college days of staying up late and getting up early to finish a paper. I knew people who copied papers or used someone else's and I have seen my share of websites offering papers to people for a fee and even at my most rushed moment to type a paper, I would never consider doing it for fear of being busted. With technology getting better and better and the chance of the professor seeing the paper at one previous time, I would rather type it myself and know what is in the contents of the paper instead of turning in something I have no clue what it says.

Even if this blog stinks and everyone leaves hate comments, at least I wrote it. For all it's worth you read it and it's you fault for reading a horrible blog. ;)