Lab Exercise 17

Final Presentation

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Final Exam Review

Reading questions: How does Grant sketch the basic structure of communication industries? Which media technologies are “deregulated?” Are these still governed by laws? Which communication industries are the most heavily regulated? What is the “long tail?”

Reading questions: What are some risks to personal privacy that are related to using the Internet? Which of these risks are introduced by the private sector? Which are introduced by the government or public sector? Which industries, specifically, gather personal information from Internet users, and use them for commercial purposes?

The ability of companies to collect information and sell that to other people and companies. Some of the risks deal with the need of people to be connected online and not taking safety precautions to protect their privacy. The government threat deals primarily with the PATRIOT Act and the CCTV’s used in the UK to search for people and monitor their whereabouts.

Reading questions: What differences are there between digital and analog TV? Which regions of the world still use analog TV transmissions? What is SDTV? HDTV? What are some key concerns of US communication regulators? What is “triple play?”

Digital TV is sent in data packets over the airwaves while analog is simple analog signals being sent over the airwaves. Mostly throughout the Third World such as South America, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. SDTV is Standard Definition Television which is what was used widely until 2009. HDTV is High Definition Television which is now widely used throughout the developed world. HDTV is far more developed than SDTV, and shows more colors than the human eye can register. P.104 regulation. Some of the concerns of regulators are paying only for services that people really want or desire to pay for. Triple Pay are bundles of telephone service, cable service, and internet service all together at once.

Reading questions: How are online providers of streaming video and audio generating revenue from their online content? What is “user generated” content, and why is it an attractive business model? What are alternatives to commercially funded streaming media sites?

Through advertisements online. User generated content allows for anybody to make their own media and upload it. Business get free advertising for their products and also are able to use the information from users to do market research and make products more suited for their customers. Vimeo is an example of a non-commercially funded media streaming site.

Reading questions: Which firms and industries are competing for audiences with terrestrial radio broadcasters? Which technologies are they using? Do these services substitute for radio?

Internet Radio, Satellite Radio, and Cable Radio. All of these work in concert with each other to provide an outlet for more competition to be used against the terrestrial radio services. These services use the Internet, broadband, HD signals, and satellites. Yes, they can. There are pros and cons to each. While someone might enjoy using a radio in their car, using internet radio at a place of work is far more convenient.

Reading questions: With whom do on-demand video services compete? Which home video production standards currently compete with each other? Which technologies turn phones into cameras? What are some emerging uses and gratifications of camera phones? What are some intellectual property rights concerns associated with home video and photography? What are some privacy concerns associated with these technologies?

These services compete with each other, Blockbuster, Video Rental stores, HBO, any other service that provides movies to people to watch at home. DVD’s, Blueray, and 3-D technology. Digital Photography, specifically VGA image capturing. Camera Phones allow people to take pictures anywhere and upload them instantly. The rights of usage on the internet, concerns about privacy and copyright laws. Some people are worried if these things breach copyright laws because of the use of copyrighted material. Privacy concerns deal with the rights of people to not be tracked on the internet and through their lives because of the tracking that is attached to mobile phone photography and video making.

Reading questions: Which US government agencies designed the Internet? Who built the Internet? What is the main communication protocol underlying the Internet? What does it do? What is DNS, and what does it do? What is an IP address? What are the underlying software technologies for e-commerce? For mobile commerce?

ARPANET created the internet as part of an ARPA project designed to maintain communications in the event of a nuclear war. TCP/IP – Transfer Communications Protocol / Internet Protocol. It breaks the data into packets and then transmits it. The DNS is the Domain Name Server which assigns names to computers and allows them to talk to each other. The IP address is the Internet Protocol address of each particular computer which is then used to communicate with the Internet. Know the types of software researched etc.

Reading questions: Which companies have been responsible for building the “wired” or copper twisted pair telephone system? Which technologies underlie “wireless” telephony? How do data services travel on wired and wireless telephone systems? What is VOIP? To what extent does mobile computing rely on the public switched telephone network?

AT&T, and other subsidies. The Cell packet system; dealing with data packets. The information is divided into packets and then transmitted through either wires or by radio waves to central locations and then transmitted until the location is reached. VOIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol. It does not anymore, but with 1G Wireless networks it was heavily dependent.

Reading questions: What is net neutrality? Does it exist today on the Internet? What home networking platforms are predominant today in the US? What is a teleconferencing “codec?” Which companies participate in the market for teleconferencing software?

Net Neutrality is the idea of people being able to do whatever you want on the internet without ISP interference. It does exist in the US but not in China. It basically deals with the practice of free access to the internet. Ethernet and WiFi. Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and Google Voice.

Reading questions: When did video games begin using dedicated computer hardware? Who are the major players in video game hardware development? Software development? Why have some video games developed franchising relationships with film studios? What is an example of a MMORPG? How have fan cultures emerged around gaming world-wide?

Video games began using dedicated computer hardware between 199 9 and 2001 with the release of the Play Station 2 by Sony and the Xbox by Microsoft in 2001. Franchise relationships deal with making more money by tying in with movies just like books and soundtracks. WoW is an example of a MMORPG. Fan cultures have left a lasting mark on the gaming world by bringing in more information about game play directly to developers. Thus the industry has become very communal in some instances with games that are very beloved by the players. Examples of this include WoW and Halo.

Lab Exercise #16

Forum Examination

For this exercise I examined the forums of Gaymer which is a Gaming site dedicated to Homosexual Gamers in an effort to support each other. In this assignment we were directed to examine a few Forums dedicated to different niches of video gamers. I chose this site due to my inexperience with the topic and the fact that it was linked in the rubric.

Call to Arms

This first thread is dedicate to gay gamers in a cry for opposition to mainline politicians who are detrimental to the Homosexual Community. The primary thesis of this post and the discussion that ensues is that politicians do not seem to care about the rights of their homosexual constituents. This thread is dedicated as a cry for more action in defense of the rights of the homosexual people particularly in the United States. The members of the forum talk about their need to mobilize and organize a grassroots movement to support their claim. IN the end this thread seems to be a desperate call to arms by a tired and downtrodden member of a minority and deviant group.

Which is more difficult?, coming out as gay or as a gaymer?

The second thread is dedicated to the idea of coming out of the closet as a homosexual versus that as being a video gamer. In this thread the author begins his post by requesting for a comparison between coming out as a homosexual and coming out as a gamer. This in turn actually took a humorous turn. Some people thought it was a pretty ludicrous comparison and the author came back and explained his real meaning just as an attempt to get known on the forum and compare somethings that the members might have in common. And then it was generally diffused into something tongue-and-cheek.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately Gaming communities and websites are an interesting phenomenon. The deviance which they present are in part due to the fact that they are minority groups. Through in some other form of deviance such as homosexuality and you reach an entirely new level of small estranged groups of people. Through the internet these people have come together to band together for survival as a kind of survival mechanism.

It is my belief that these kind of communities have always existed. The introduction of the internet will just help foster their growth and existence over wide distances. These groups of deviants will continue to band together because of their use of technology.

Lab Exercise #15

Video Gaming Laboratory

Due to the success of our classes efforts in fulfilling the requirements for this class, we have successfully completed all of the laboratory exercises and requirements which were outlined in the Class syllabus. Because of this we have been given the opportunity to expand our outlook even more by working with some of the other different communications resources which are available through the Communications Department. Once again, I worked with Miss Taylor Miller and Miss Crystal Castaneda.

For the purpose of this exercise we were given the opportunity to visit and work in the Video Gaming Lab of the department. This was in and of itself an incredible opportunity. The Video Gaming Lab has several resources at its disposal, ranging from PC games, to console games, and mobile games available on iPod Touches. We worked together to get a grasp for these different resources.

PC Gaming

World of Warcraft

The first PC game that our group analyzed at any length was that of World of Warcraft (WoW). We were all encouraged to examine games that would push us outside of our comfort zones. Because of this Taylor volunteered to attempt to work through the gaming world of WoW. WoW is published by Blizzard Entertainment which is a subsidy of Activision Blizzard Inc. a leading software company in the United States. The game is an online game which requires an active network connection. WoW is what is referred to as a MMORPG, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. The game is at its core a PC game which works on a client server bases. Basically this means that the game needs to be connected to a server in order to function. Otherwise it won't work. The software installed on the individual PC's is basically thin client software which then registers and connects to the servers operated by Blizzard. The gameplay is fairly complex though at the same time intuitive. Three other titles published by Blizzard are Warcraft, Starcraft II, and Diablo II.

Cave Story

The second PC game that we looked at is Cave Story. Cave Story is an action adventure game which was developed by Daisuke Amaya as freeware. The game is fairly simple in and of itself. It works on a screen crossing paradigm which most gamers are familiar with as it is the most common form of gameplay incredibly prevalent in the 1980's and 1990's, the heyday of stand alone arcade game machines. The game is freeware and was developed for cross platform portability. The game is available on Microsoft Windows, Macintosh OS X, Linux Operating Systems, PSP, Xbox, Amiga Operating System, GP2X, and the Wii. The game is freely available and was first released in 2004. It exhibits many of the characteristics of the nostalgic gaming community. Mr. Amaya also developed a game entitled Ikachan which is similar in design and gameplay.

Console Gaming

Wii Sports

I chose to play the Wii Sports game because I had never played it before and because I had heard so many good things about it. At first I didn't even know how to work the game at all but my classmates helped me. It was definitely not hard to learn. Wii is a sports video game developed and produced by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii Video Game console. Wii Sports is part of the Touch! Generations brand. The Wii Sports game offered different options of what specific game to play. It offered five sports including tennis, golf, bowling, boxing and baseball. Because of time constraints I was only able to play the tennis and bowling games, but it was definitely a fun experience. While watching other classmates play different games on different platforms, it was apparent that the Wii Sports was one of the most technologically advanced video games. I used the Wii remote which was used to perform the action used in real life sports, such as swinging the tennis racket and using the bowling technique. Wii Sports is classified as action/sports. Wii also offers games such as Wii Fit and Wii Dance that are also classified in the action/sports genre.


Mobile Gaming

Fieldrunners

Fieldrunners is a tower defense game which is a sub-genre of the Real Time Strategy gaming sphere. The game was published by Subatomic Studios for the iPhone OS in 2008. We played the game on an iPod Touch. The gameplay was fairly simple, the player places defense fortifications in an attempt to stop enemies from traversing the length of the screen. This continued until the game was complete after 10 levels. Subatomic Studios is a very small company has not yet published any other titles. The company itself is incredibly small and only employs six people.


Spore

This game allows the user to try to survive as a multicellular organism in a tide pool with the opportunity to upgrade its features with the collection of new DNA from other organisms. This game is operated on the iPod Touch by moving the device in the direction that you'd like the character on the screen to go. With other devices, such as mobile phones that lack a touchscreen, the character is moved by pressing keys in ordinal directions of the desired movement. The player advances after their organism eats a certain amount of new DNA from other creatures. Spore is Electronic Arts and is developed by Babaroga and Tricky Software.

I found this game to be really complicated, probably because I never play any sort of video game. I'm also not extremely familiar with the iPod Touch device, so moving the device in order to control the screen was difficult for me to get used to. The graphics of the game were outstanding however, and once I became comfortable with the screen movements the game became more enjoyable. Games like this that are available for mobile music devices or mobile phones can provide entertainment to the user no matter where they are located. The program ran smoothly and efficiently and loaded immediately. Another positive aspect of this game is that it does not require an internet connection in order to run. This really makes the game accessible in any location. Overall, this is an entertaining game that operates well in any location.

Final Thoughts

My final thoughts on this lab are mixed. I believe that it was a fun exercise that stretched us in our desires and designs. I think that it is important for people to explore other and different options. In this game we were able to examine a few different products and step out of our comfort zones. I think it was a good experience because it stretched us.

Personally I do not play a lot of video games simply because I do not have the time. Because of this I do not have a great deal of experience with them other than what I have picked up over the years with friends and family. Video games today cover a wide variety, from a simple game to play on your iPod while waiting for the bus, to games that people play in their basements, to fun filled communal games which are designed just to help have people have a good time with each other. Like them or not video games are here to stay and have become an incredibly huge industry. Industry competition always leaves the consumer as the winner, which means that the average user has nothing to lose, and everything to gain from the video gaming industry.

This lab was more enjoyable than any of the others because of the design and layout of the Video Game Lab. We were able to work with the other class group while at the same time working on our own project and our own report. It was a good work environment which helped us to all unwind towards the end of the fall semester.

Lab Exercise 14

Video Teleconferencing

The purpose of this assignment was to evaluate options the options available to consumers for teleconferencing using several different freely available options. The software we evaluated was Skype, Google Talk, and Yahoo Messenger. All three of these are freely available to consumers and two of them can be used in conjunction with other freely available online services. All three of these services can make and receive calls to land lines or normal phone numbers. In addition to this all three of the services have the abilities to engage in file sharing between the two user clients. While we were unable to work with the video teleconferencing, we worked together to evaluate the voice call capabilities.

Google Talk

Google Talk is an extension of Google Chat. The service works between only two users with Google accounts. After logging into the account on the client software it is possible to engage in voice calls. The quality of the calls is very good but there is no way to do conferencing calling. This is a drawback to this software.

Yahoo Messenger

Yahoo Messenger works on the same principles of Google Talk. Using a Yahoo account anyone can log into the client software and begin chatting or talking with any of their contacts. This is in fact one of Yahoo Messengers strengths. Yahoo can also make calls to normal telephones and receive calls from normal telephones. However the audio quality is not the best. This could be seen in particular during the conference call evaluation.

Skype

After already evaluating a few of the features of Skype in the previous lab we were already familiar with the software. The functions available on the desktop client are in fact much more robust. Conference calling is easy to set up and use. Calls can be made to normal telephones just like Yahoo Messenger. However the audio quality of Skype is unparalleled. The sound was crystal clear compared to the other services. The addition of file sharing and instant messaging makes Skype the overall best choice for a communications client.

Final Thoughts

After evaluating the various uses and function of the different types of software, I have come to the conclusion that Skype is the overall best piece of software and is the best choice for the consumer and the business user. The client is the cleanest and most efficient while the services are also the best. The separate nature from Yahoo and Google, combined with the ease of use and expanded functionality make Skype the clear industry leader and winner in any competition.

The competition between the three services will in fact support continual development and improvement. This in turn will ultimately leave the consumer as the winner since at this point the software and services are free, as far as VoIP is concerned.

Lab Exercise 13

Group Work on Skype

For this assignment I once again had the great privilege of working with Miss Taylor Miller and Miss Crystal Castaneda. our assignment was to examine the different aspects of using Skype on iPod touch devices. We once again used the assigned devices from the Communications Lab in order to install the application and review the different capabilities and functions of the application.

There are a few interesting things to note about the software in question. Skype is communications software. It is employed as a communications suite which puts several tools at the fingertips of the end user. In its mobile form Skype will allow you to make and receive voice calls, voice mail, text messages, and instant messaging. I assume that some video might also be employed but only as a receiving unit as the iPod touch lacks the hardware to make video calls. In its base form the iPod can also not be used to make calls. This is because of the lack of a microphone in the device. Desktop and Laptop PCs with audio and video equipment are capable of using all the capabilities of the mobile Skype in addition to video teleconferencing and file sharing.

A few notes to make are that the iPod can make and receive voice calls too and from other Skype users and normal telephones. Furthermore, the Skype client allows people to use text messaging and IM. Finally the Skpye software allows from Skype to Skype calls. Calls involved include all of the functions a normal call would have such as speaker phone, muting a call, placing people on hold, the dialpad, etc. These are all of the basic functions of the software.

As a group discussion we also talked about some of the various advantages and disadvantages of using the software. Skype didn't work because of the lack of the hardware, this makes it pretty useless in my mind. On the PC it makes perfect sense. The hardware capabilities make it very lucrative to use. While the software is free and easy to use it makes no sense on the iPod because of no microphone, this in fact made it frustrating to use. We all agreed that we would use Skype again, but only a PC where all of the functionality can be employed. Over a cell phone the software makes sense because it is free, makes free Skype to Skype calls, and charges very competitive rates about calls between other services such as real phones.

Overall using Skype was a good learning experience. I believe there are improvements that could be made, and that at this point it is impractical for use on an iPod. However, VoIP services and software have definitely made their mark on the world of telephony.

Lab Exercise 12

Business Analytics Proposal

Introduction
The purpose of this assignment is to prepare a business proposal which will outline my recommendation for a brick-and-mortar flower shop to expand into an online store. This will be based primarily upon my recommendation for the flower shop. The flower shop in question will be based in College Station and will cater to all kinds of needs in the local area such as weddings, parties, funerals, churches and just about anything else that you can think of concerning flowers. I will recommend software they can use to expand into the online market.

Linux Software

The first issue that I would like to address is the usage of Linux based systems. As we were guided in our classroom, it is important to note the Linux based systems. The Linux based systems are Zen Cart, Magento, osCommerce, VirtueMart, PrestaShop, and osCMax. All of these systems are used in the creation of online stores and the management of those systems. Some of these systems are of course more extensive than others, while at the same time some are more limited. The reason why these are all significant enough to mention is because of the fact that they are all free and based on Linux. Linux of course is an open source computer operating system which makes it freely available. Based on this information, it makes sense that the software would in that case also be free. These are in fact some of the six best free Linux e-commerce software suites. One thing that I would note about them however is that they are all based on Linux. While this makes things inexpensive it also requires a high level of technical knowledge which I believe makes these software suites unsuitable for the flower shop. While free, it would be necessary for some kind of technical expertise to be employed.

Software Suites

In lieu of these Linux software suites there are a few alternatives that I would recommend. ClickTale looks like a superb piece of software. This suite comes in several different iterations and is in fact available for free in a Limited Plan. This plan records 400 pageviews a month and tracks 1 domain with a 30 day history. The page reports and hosted services are part of the included service. These tools along with the no entry cost lead me to recommend this as a first time user tool to set up shop online.

Another service that would appear to be very desirable are the Google Analytics suite. Google offers Advertising trend reports, e-commerce reporting, multimedia tracking, cross channel tracking, and customized reporting. This customized reporting even includes data visualization. However there are a few concerns about this service from Google. First of all there is limited pricing information available about the service. Because of this it would be difficult to make an informed and balanced decision on what should and should not be considered. Secondly, and maybe more importantly is the fact that it is a Google service. While Google as a company has made strides to achieve business transparency and trust there are some who hold to conspiracy theories and privacy concerns. Because of these factors it might be difficult to achieve a good beginning in the online market.

The last product to view is in fact the one that I would recommend if price was no object. Webtrends offers a full feature suite of hourly recorded views. Visual data representation, summarized reporting, page view logs, site log analysis, web hosted browser based interface, accessibility flexibility, and mobile application usage. These features make webtrends appeal to the high end user with a large online business. However the simplicity, robustness, and flexibility of the system lead me to believe that it would make a good program for the flower shop scenario.

Summary

In summary I would point out that I believe that webtrends offers the best choice for overall usage. However because of the limited resources available I believe that free solution would work best initially. While there are many Linux based solutions the high level of technological knowledge required leads me to suggest ClickTale as a first time user tool. The ease of use, limited services, and free cost make it an excellent piece of software.