The Times They Are A changin’

It’s so interesting to see how things have changed, even over the last few years. Mobile phones used to be, “Bricks,” which used to make phone calls, send texts, and allow the user to play “Snake.” Nowadays it is incredible how far they have come, what with the I-Phone and all of its mighty applications: some people even made a way to drive a car with one! (I still wonder how it gets away with not having a flash for the camera though).

Something I have on my phone which I have developed an interest in, especially because of the Media Methodologies unit, is RSS feeds. These basically link to a server and download small bits of information when told. For example, I have a feed which links to the BBC’s news feed, and every now and again when I refresh it, it accesses the site and downloads the latest news. It really is information at your fingertips! I also have a link to Al Jazeera’s news feed as well, as I have been told that their information has less of a ‘spin’ on it and I am interested in comparing the two and deciding for myself.
It will be interesting to see where things go in the future, who knows; maybe we will get to ‘step inside’ films (a bit of an advancement from wearing 3D glasses). But either way, things still seem to be moving forward at an alarming rate!

China

I used to work in a Chinese takeaway. Yea sometimes people stereotype oriental people as being really, really hard working, and I’m sure not all of them are, but in my experience so far, I have found this to be true. One girl I spoke to who I met recently in London told me the hours she had to do in high school, and I was shocked.
Currently there is a big dispute taking place which might cause Google to withdraw from China, due to its censorship rules, the government wanting to filter information that people are allowed access to.
It is slightly concerning when such a company who have brought about such catchphrases as “Lets Google it,” (maybe Googling one day becoming a word in its own right), decide to take such drastic action. The Android phones are also Google powered, and what with China being the world’s largest mobile phone market, this is going to cause interesting situations for the various businesses.
Hopefully this won’t escalate into anything undesirable.

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File sharing

It is something that I'm sure most of us have done, from sending someone a song over Bluetooth, to downloading high end editing software which costs thousands of pounds.
Either way, various industries see it as a massive threat, with a potential for closing down entire sectors of the media industry. I mean if everyone just downloaded for free all the music they ever wanted, that would be the loss of the primary source of income for the music industry.
Fair enough.

On the other hand, when you look at the lifestyles of certain famous musicians, for example Amy Winehouse with her coke-riddled bird’s nest which enables her to snort on stage; Californian rock stars with their 18 cars and 5 different mansions, who moan that they don’t have enough, it gets to the point where you feel like you might actually be doing them a favor by cutting their pay through pirated music. It is actually quite terrifying to think how much richer California would be if everyone did everything ‘legally.’ The film Avatar cost 300,000,000 to create, and apparently it was made back after two weeks of being in the cinema; think how much more profit it will make when it is out on DVD.

One ironic thing I think is that a lot of people who work for big software companies like Adobe or Microsoft, probably learnt their various skills on 'illegally' downloaded software when they were younger. The thing is, huge companies like these, expect students to dish out hundreds of pounds in order to purchase their products, and in reality, it is hard enough financially being a student anyway. Last year, I was quite impressed when I found out that Microsoft was giving away free copies of Visual Studio 2008 to students, and quickly snapped up this offer. Windows also recently sold copies of Windows 7 and Office 2008 for affordable prices for students, when they do things like this you don’t feel quite as bad about actually buying them.

On a lot of DVDs it says no unauthorized lending, does this mean that technically it is illegal to lend a film to someone and that if you wanted to do everything 'properly' you should get written permission? That is a bit OTT in my opinion. And if that is the case, then why wouldn’t copying a film for someone who didn’t intend on keeping it be any different.

I was also recently told that when you upload pictures onto Facebook, Facebook then owns the rights for them… does that mean I am technically breaking the law using my photos if they are on Facebook...

I personally think the whole system is a bit stupid.

Avatar
File Sharing Case
Offline File Sharing

Rage Against

I had a conversation with my cousin the other night. She feels very strongly about the battle currently raging between X-Factor winner Joe McElderry, and Rage Against the Machine for the title of Christmas number 1.

Sick to death - as many people are - about the commercialization of popular music, and how it has (and explicitly so this decade) become nothing more than an opportunity for big-shots like Simon Cowell to line his pockets more so. What has happened to songs which mean something and get people thinking? While I don't think that all songs should be aimed at creating political change in the country and world, it just seems as though at the moment, there is a distinct lack of songs which actually carry any political punch (especially in comparison to past decades, and various movements such as the punk movement).

She said that Rage reaching number one would be an amazing way to end this decade, a decade characterised by glorified karaoke contests such as pop idol and x-factor (and because Simon clearly wasn't content enough; Britain's got Talent), which in themselves are very entertaining, but what with so much going on in the world at the moment, it is as if people are just turning a blind eye to real issues, living in a dream like state of escapism, a veil created by pop stars who are here today and forgotten tomorrow, given their 15minutes of fame singing songs they don't even write themselves.

Even though as they say, Simon Cowell will probably cash in no matter who wins (as both artists are signed under Sony, which I have no doubt Simon has massive shares in), doing something is always better than just letting things carry on as per usual, and may help people realise what has become of an industry that should be about freedom of speech.

People have we forgotten that we have a voice? Yea it may be small but as someone said; "United we stand, divided we fall," and we need to re-discover the power of unity, and that is more what this battle is about: standing up against the system.
Simon does not have the monopoly on choice, and we are not puppets of the media.

Rage Against the Machine For Number 1 Facebook Page
An Article from the Telegraph

Freebies alert!

Freebies. Everyone loves freebies: whether it be ‘the toy’ from the cereal packet when you were a kid (or maybe you secretly still get the cereal for the toy, I won’t tell anyone); ‘surprises’ from your mobile phone dealer; or a £10 gift token for going to a 2 hour meeting; if there is something extra thrown it, then we go for it - well at least I do anyway, whether that makes me a good bargain hunter, easily swayed or just a vulture, I don’t know.

I used to be with Vodaphone, but back then they didn’t give you any ‘benefits’ for being with them; then I discovered O2 who seem to load you with ‘extras’ all the time, it’s great! I know they only want my business, but it definitely builds them a good reputation – I certainly went with them because everyone always enthused about them.

I am staying in halls at the moment, and last month there was a ‘quarterly meeting’ held by the staff in order to get feedback from the residents; not the most exciting way to spend an evening, but they were giving out £10 HMV vouchers to the first 20 people to show up. Yes I went, and felt bad, but it was actually quite interesting and I will probably go next time regardless. I like the fact that I had something to contribute to the running of the place, and that my opinions and views can influence and change things; but why should it take free things to persuade people to go?

Giving is really important. There’s a proverb which says: “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.” And, “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” This doesn’t always appear to be the case, but it’s not always all about materialism, it’s about who you are and who you are becoming.

Something I wrestle with a lot is things like Comic Relief and Live Aid. I think it is really good that lots of people get together and support a common cause, and I’m sure it does a lot of good, but you can’t just blast away poverty in one lump sum: remember them saying, “Let’s end poverty?” Nice thought, but sorry it just doesn’t work like that.
The media blast us with pictures of poor children in Africa, and yea, it makes you feel bad and overwhelmed by the whole situation, but sometimes it feels like people use charity events as a band aid for the guilt; “Oh yea I give to charity, I bought a red nose this year, did you know they raised millions?” And then you somehow feel that you’ve done something major, but in fact it was a cumulative effort, and in fact you only gave £2. Besides, this amount doesn’t even begin to sort out the world’s economic imbalance.

I’m not saying that these one off events aren’t good and don’t help at all, and even giving a little bit is better than nothing, but I just don’t think they are enough. I can’t say I’m the greatest shining example of a philanthropist because I am often very selfish, but I don’t want to be someone who just says, “Isn’t it awful,” and then turns away and justifies it by giving my £2 each year.
I support and believe that the best thing we can do is - through various organisations - support individuals in developing countries through regular donations. I have been doing this for about 3 years now; it costs the same amount I top up my phone each month, and also involves writing to and receiving letters (and sometimes photos) from the sponsored person. They are in turn able to go to school, and are provided with medical care and other essentials (things we can take for granted).
I have sometimes found it really hard (like when I was in college and had no income) and I have on numerous occasions almost cancelled it, and yea I sometimes just have no idea what I should write back, like when the child writes, “Thanks for the Christmas present, I had a great time and was able to get a new pair of shoes.” Sometimes it all still seems so plain insignificant, but when I see the photos and read the letters and see what my little is doing to change someone’s life, it helps me remember that one person can make a difference in someone else life, and perhaps that person will in turn group up caring deeply for others around them and work to see change in their communities and countries because they realise that they also can do something for others. Not to mention what they might become in the future through the doors opened up to them through their education.

Granted we have our fair share of poverty here as well and I’m not ignoring that, but ending poverty is not just a one off payment: it’s a commitment. Imagine what could be done if every ONE person in the developed nations supported ONE person in the developing nations? YOU can make a difference.

www.actionaid.org.uk
www.compassionuk.org

“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. “
- Mother Teresa -

Windows 7

Windows 7

I recently upgraded to Windows 7 on my laptop, because I was fed up of Vista. Anyone familiar with computers might notice that Vista is really slow (I only noticed this properly when my friend introduced me to his Mac), the reason for this massive lag in speed is that Vista comes by default with a whole bunch of pointless programs running in the background eating up all the computer’s memory. Originally I attempted to sort it out by going through a list from the internet of different programs that you can stop without ruining your computer: such as Infrared Monitor Service (very useful seeing as I don’t have anything Infrared on my PC). However when I discovered an offer of Windows 7 available for students for £30 (instead of about £70), I decided it was worth it, for my sanity’s sake.

Windows 7 seems great so far: it’s a lot slicker; it takes my computer about 2 minutes to restart and get back to where I was before (instead of like 6 minutes); I like the layout which is user friendly (some people compare it to Macs, but I think it is sufficiently different); and the special visual effects don’t seem to slow it down to a snail’s pace.

I think that a similar thing can happen to us sometimes: life can occasionally feel very noisy what with all the ‘processes’ running in the backgrounds of our minds, and sometimes we can get bogged down with pointless things and ‘run’ a lot slower. Sorting out junk mail for instance is one of my pet hates, just because it takes up so much time (especially owing to the fact I have more than one inbox).
Junk mail isn’t just emails though: I try and put junk snail mail in the bin without even opening it; and I refuse as much physical literature as possible that people try and hand out to me on the streets, or at university etc, just because it takes so long to try and sort through it all, and I usually end up keeping half of it and it just clutters up my desk space.

Something else that seems pointless and often doesn’t get done is reading all the ‘terms and conditions’ for things. Most people just agree to terms and conditions without even reading them (which is bad really), because if you read all the terms and conditions for everything these days, you would probably still be there now. Banks also seem to continuously send you updates to their policies (which you need a degree in banking to understand anyway); they are probably just trying to blag your head so that they can get away with things!

I just wish life could be a bit simpler and user friendly sometimes, like Windows 7 :)

(If you are a student or lecturer and are interested in purchasing a copy of Windows 7 for your PC for £30 or a copy of Office 2007 for £38.95, please support me by using the below link, thanks.)

http://student.theultimatesteal.co.uk/z/2/CD1093/

Comments Please

Whenever I am thinking about buying a new product these days, I usually check out the reviews first.
On sites such as Ebay, customer reviews are crucial to the seller’s success, because if they have ‘black-marks’ next to them because of bad reviews, people are less likely to buy from them.

Because I am at university now, and don’t have a house phone anymore, I have finally deemed it necessary (although I could possibly get by without it) to get a contract phone; after being with pay as you go for so long, it just isn’t working anymore. Besides this, I am fed up with the inefficiency of my old phone, and being a slight technical junkie, I have spotted a new more exciting phone, no it’s not the iPhone, it’s the HTC HD2. Oh and don’t anyone dare turn the ‘comment section’ of this post into a debate between iPhones and other phones, or indeed Apple (who make the iPhone), and Microsoft (who provide the operating system for the HD2).

When I was choosing where to get this phone from, I happened upon mobiles.co.uk, which I had never seen before, however they are apparently part of the Carphone Warehouse. Because I had never seen this company before, I wanted to check out opinions on their reputability, so – like I do – I checked out some reviews. I typed ‘Mobile.co.uk reviews’ on Google, and what I found was quite interesting. The reviews of the site on Mobiles.co.uk were all good (biased maybe?):

“I would just like to thank Mobiles.co.uk for a quick and smashing service. I will be recommending you to my colleagues, family and friends."

"Thanks again for the great after sales support. I have already recommended you to various friends."

However the reviews on O2’s website from a forum were pretty much all bad.

“I had to try to get in contact with them the other day regarding an upgrade issue for someone else, I was on hold for over 25minutes and then got an error message saying the lines had been suspended. “

“I personally wouldn't touch Carphone Warehouse with a surgically altered Bargepole.
Read too many horror stories about their allegedly shocking customer service and after sales support.”

Even though Mobiles.co.uk deals with O2 products, I found that the deal I got from them was cheaper than the deal I would get from the O2 website itself. Could it be that O2 purposely got people to write bad reviews about their competitor so that people would be deterred from using mobiles.co.uk? Big businesses - as we all know from Rupert Murdoch's example - thrive on crushing other businesses.

Finally I looked at one more site which didn’t sell products, to see what reviews said about mobiles.co.uk (not that people from O2 couldn’t have posted on this site).
Ciao.co.uk:

Great prices,customer service email based & therefore complicated
...i bought my phone from mobiles.co.uk but i wish there would be an easier way of contacting customer services. Customer service is generally by e mail and it takes four hours to answer. Have not claimed my cashback yet but it seems to be that mobiles.co.uk pay cashback quickly so i hope that works out for me. In the end of the day a good price is the most important requirment. ... Read review

one of the best mobile dealers in UK
Mobiles.co.uk is quite good in responding to your queries & have a good customer service who are really friendly. Mobiles.co.uk ... Read review

The opinions seemed mixed anyway.
Interesting. People aren’t stupid, and I have no doubt that these big companies realise how influential reviews can be. Is it just possible that reviews are more often than not manipulated? Obviously there will be some genuine ones there, but a good deal of them could possibly be there by choice of companies.
I recently posted a bad review of something on FireBox, and it was the only bad one of the lot, and they allowed that, but the product was only £5, and not a couple of hundred (like a phone).

Film reviews are quite interesting as well. The second Incredible Hulk film didn’t seem very popular (I’ve not actually seen it, but I don’t even remember it ever being in the cinema), but I always remember the ‘review’ that is on the cover: “A Monster of a Movie,” (quote by Loaded) this doesn’t really say much though does it, does that mean they thought it was good? I mean, there is a monster in the film... maybe they were just trying to get away with not saying it was bad, but not saying it was good at the same time by using a clever play on words, whilst still getting paid to submit something.

At the end of the day, I think reviews are a massive selling factor, and company involvement wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, cause its all about the money.



http://www.mobiles.co.uk/comments.html
http://forum.o2.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=23649&sid=e9c7e8df0f22e5016256a7cb717fdeab
http://www.ciao.co.uk/Reviews/mobiles_co_uk__87437