Thank God for new media technology

I know the last four posts were somewhat negative and so this one, which is the last, promises to lighten up the mood a bit as far as internet downloading is concerned and leave everyone with one, if not more reasons, to love new media technology. Hopefully this post changes your perception of me from anti-new media technology to pro-new media technology.

I trully salute the intellectuals behind media technology for their continued zilience to keep advancing new media technology. The possibilities that have been brought to out shores are quite endless and trully make life an easy ride. Students for instance can now surf the internet to supplement their intellectual content with that of people far off in their fields. As a result, we don't really have an excuse for not producing intelligent work and so forth. Downloading in this regard has been made even more blissful and efficient as the result of new media inventions such as the memory stick which allows us to download information on it and simply edit what we wish and not wish to use in the comforts of our homes.

And so in this regard the work environment thus alters in the sense that getting a job done is no longer just confined to formal settings where there is constant surveilance. Rather we now have been given the liberty to take our works and most confidential information with us everywhere we go.

Again i know this should probably put me on the firing line but guys none of you has a reason to slack behind and blame putting off work on insufficient avenues. I know I'm a fine one to talk but that is a fact. However such dynamics should be no reason to be unethical and deceivers hence that seems to be the norm with a few who have seen the opportunity to abuse the advantages brought on by new media.

environmental impacts of cellphones

Although individual cell phones contain only a fraction of the lead and brominated flame retardant found in a computer, their growing number and shorter life span threaten to contribute an increasing proportion of these and other toxic substances to the waste stream.
These devices are so small, therefore their environmental impacts might appear to be minimal, but the growth in their use has been so enormous that the environmental and public health impacts of the waste they create are a significant concern.

Like other wireless electronic devices, cell phones contain persistent and bio-accumulative toxic chemicals (PBTs) that are linked to cancer and a host of neurological, reproductive, and developmental disorders. Their components include: arsenic, antimony, beryllium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc; along with the brominated flame retardant used in the plastic parts.

It should be noted that these substances are not known to pose threats to the environment or public health while the devices are being used. Rather, their hazardous effects occur downstream - during materials extraction and processing - and at end of life, when cell phones and other wireless products are incinerated or disposed of in landfills, and during recycling processes such as shredding, grinding, melting, plastics extrusion, and metals processing.

The impacts that cellphones have on the environment are not alarming as they come at a very minimal scale.

the down side of cellphones

It is known the fact that all mobile phones use electromagnetic fields and emit radiations that affect the human body. Those radiations and the electromagnetic fields that surround them can cause a lot of diseases. Many people who use cell phones very often are now suffering from headaches, dizziness, disorientation, confusion or nausea and are complaining about earaches.Cellphones much like everything also have a downside.


There are negatives as far as cell phones go as well. It can be a distraction when handling the phone as you drive but you concentrate more when you can have two hands on wheel. In our country it is illegal to carry a cellphone whilst driving. It is recommended that you carry a hands free set.

Cellphones are a huge cause in road accidents, they play a huge role. There have been numerous cases where a road accident occured due to the fact that the driver was using a cellphone and got distracted and end up causing an accident. Increased reliance on cell phones has led to a rise in the number of people who use the cellphones while driving. There are two dangers associated with driving and cell-phone use, including text messaging. First, drivers take their eyes off the road while dialing. Second, people can become so absorbed in their conversations that their ability to concentrate on driving is severely impaired.

Cellphones also form a platform for kids to view and watch porn. Cellphones make accessing and sending pornographic visuals and videos very easy, especially for underage children.

In Universities cellphones are banned from exam rooms as they serve as a medium for students to cheat during exams.

cellphones and the global village

The world shrunk by communication technology to a village is the definition of global village by Marshall McLuhan.It is the effects of mass media on behaviour and thought.

With new media technologies such as cell phones the world has shrunk and become smaller. As technology is improving; parents, siblings, friends, can keep in touch with each other in an easier and better way, despite the geographical distance between them.

It is common practice for people to talk to each other and communicate, even if they are living on separate continents. This does not only, make the world smaller but also contributes to the phenomenon of virtual communities. These are mainly developed on social networks.

Cellphones have enhanced communication across all geographical borders. This form of communication can be achieved by making phone calls, sending text messages or communicating over social networks.
This brings the world closer to you and makes it easier to communicate with people who are beyond borders and oversees.

Communicating using cellphones decreases face-to-face conversations. The traditional way of interaction. Cellphones have revolutionised communication and interaction.

People can utilize the cellphone for various different reasons, banking and shopping, activities which required much physical activity in the past now require the user to only press a couple of buttons and things can automatically happen.

The world is inevitably changing and progressing for the better. Everything is just a button away. With cellphones the world is at your fingertips.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT: dealing with downloaders the French way.

The French Government, French ISP’s and the local music and film industry have signed an agreement that will see French users who download material from P2P networks losing their internet access.
According to the NY Times, French internet users will face a three strikes and you’re out policy for illegally downloading files from the Internet . The good news though is they will receive a warning for each illegal download before losing their service on the third infringement.
An independent authority supervised by a judge will manage the scheme and decide if and when users should lose their internet access.
Not surprisingly the recording and music industry loves the move, with the head of the IFPI (the international recording industry body) John Kennedy telling the Times that “this is the single most important initiative to help win the war on online piracy that we have seen so far..President Sarkozy has shown leadership and vision. He has recognized the importance that the creative industries play in contemporary western economies.”

With this move then the question I would like to pose is if whether governments from around the world should follow suit as a measure to save the interests of the many artists they represent as their constituents. Clearly artists suffer huge blows as the result of the unethics that go with the failure to protect their intellectual property. I do realise that such a move is, to a certain extent, a downer to the adventures of new media dynamics and the adventures that go with it but it surely is unfair to just rip people off of their hard work.

The New Global Village

Social Networks have made spatial distance less relevant. They allow instant contant with other people despite the physical distance separating them. This gives evidence to the fact that social networks or online communication have turned the world into a global village by allowing interaction among individuals no matter where on earth they are located.

The "virtuality" offered by social networks thus blurs the geographical contraints. People are spending more and more time online communicating or doing things with people abroad, which is evidence of virtual migration. For example, from home one can recieve and send emails, read news about many countries and even take virtual tours to those countries.

This gives further evidence that the globe has been turned into a village by these new media technologies. Users are making new friends across the globe and are becoming part-citizens of a space beyond the geography of their own country. They form their interactions on the basis of mutual interest rather than geography of where they live.

This blurring of geographical constrains thus no longer narrows interaction, as people are able to select their acquaintances by other criteria such as common interests, status, economic class, academic discipline, or ethnic group.

the evolution of the music industry

The music industry is without a doubt the biggest contributor to most nations' revenues. With a market that is worth billions, music is seen by many as a form of art and expression. Its multi-dimensional side has the ability to connect people in many different ways and from across all spheres of life whether social, spititual or political. itt encompasses the world and the aspirations of its people reflecting politics, the economy and new technology.



The invention of MP3 players for instance has given music lovers the endless opportunity to download music and therefore giving them access to the works of their favourite musicians. Websites such as MySpace and YouTube allow for more access to artists who now can promote and advertise themselves without the help of record houses. Search engines such as Limeware and Napster, which is a search engine that allows users to find and download MP3 audio files, are yet some of the inventions of new media technologies within the music business and uses cutting-edge technology to ensure the completion of each MP3 download. with such prospects in the fore then downloading becomes the answer to the prayers of many people and can be said to be very economical compared to having to purchase the whole album in the sense as a consumer one is offered the choice to download only the songs they want which is not the case with cd purchases. Moreover music downloading offers independent artists the chance to promte themselves thereby permeating their desired markets. A fan can upload a song that they got to know about through the internet onto a radio station's website and in this way give that particular artist the chance to be heard. In this sense then, record label houses are becoming less and less important in the permeation of the industry especially to artists who wish not to go through the commercialising route most famous artists have taken.



However wonderful this may be, these search engines still find themselves at crossraods with the law. The Recording Industry Association of America which is mandated with protecting intellectual property rights of artists has filed a number of lawsuits against various music search sites such as Project Playlist, claiming their copyrights are infringed by the site's index of links.