How has the world of entertainment changed over the years?

How has the world of entertainment changed over the years?

Today we take most technology we use for granted.

Things such as:

• Mobile Phones
• Personal Computers
• MP3 Player
• Games Consoles

etc.

There has to be a starting point for each of these products. Or a process of which they have gone through to become widely accessible for the public to use.

This is known as the PROJECT LIFE CYCLE. Here is diagram to explain this theory.

 

 

 

 



Mobile Phones:

History

• During the 1950s, mobile phone technology was used extensively in trains throughout Europe. Radio communication was common in the United States in taxicabs and emergency vehicles. Car phones were luxury items that spread slowly in popularity. Their great weight, size and cost limited mobile phones to the extraordinarily wealthy. The technology did not catch on until the FCC approved commercial cellular phone service in 1982. Within several years, they were a mass market product.

Function

• The first generation of mobile phones (commonly referred to as 1G) made analog transmissions only--meaning that they transmitted data through a sliding scale of information, rather than through binary code as in digital transmissions. The transmission protocol that the phones used was almost entirely determined by the FCC regulations regarding bandwidth usage. The FCC restricts what frequencies are allowed for use for certain purposes by selected licensed companies. The mobile phones of this period were very hefty--often weighing two to four pounds--and cost thousands of dollars.

Geography

• Mobile phone technology developed around the world at roughly the same pace as in the US. Japan and Europe deregulated their airwaves at a slightly quicker pace than in the US. Mobile phones were launched first in Japan in 1979, for example, years before they entered the market in the US. However, the first mobile phone in the US was launched by an American company, Motorola. Europe, Japan and South Korea adopted third generation (3G) phone standards much faster than in the US during the early 2000s, in part due to slower deregulation in the US.

Effects

• The advance of computer miniaturization during the 1980s allowed mobile phone companies to shrink down the size of their briefcase units to handheld phones by the late 1980s. In the 1990s, very small phones became common, as did those with significant additional features, such as note-taking, personal organization and e-mail. Second generation (2G) phones that used digital transmission--most significantly making it possible to send and receive SMS text messages--became common throughout the world beginning in 1990.

The Personal Computer:

Benefits

• In just a few short decades, mobile phone technology has greatly enhanced human communication. People can stay in touch with their friends and family at all times. Workers can collaborate with one another instantaneously, around the world, at any time and in any place. The most advanced phones can browse the internet at high speeds and run complex applications that would have taxed an advanced computer just 20 years ago. Modern phones can serve as GPS systems, provide mobile video feedback, trade stocks and much more. In the developing world, cell phones have provided low-cost communications infrastructure, connecting the world's poorest people to the global marketplace like never before.

Early Inventions

• Originally referred to as microcomputers, personal computers came into existence after two pivotal inventions. In 1959, a device known as the integrated circuit was created. It allowed for computer-memory circuits to be much smaller, thus allowing the machines to be portable. The other invention, the microprocessor, was first introduced in 1971. Microprocessors reduced computers' central processing units to the size of a single silicon chip.

Competitors

• Several companies, many no longer in existence, quickly followed MITS in the growing personal computer market. Some of the companies releasing personal computers in the late 1970s included Apple, Commodore, Northgate, Zenith and Zeos.

Growth in the 1980s

• According to CNET, personal computer sales shot up dramatically in the early 1980s when businesses began introducing computers into the workplace. IBM began manufacturing computers specifically for businesses because of this trend. Personal computer sales rose from 609,000 in 1975 to 1.6 million in 1981. From one year to the next, the number of personal computers manufactured and sold throughout the 1980s surged.

Pre-Internet Advancements

• Early personal computers were used primarily for word processing, storing information and playing video games. As further technological refinements were made, and consumer demand continued to rise, new features were added. Some of these enhancements through the 1990s included CD-ROMs, hardware used for playing multimedia, and Zip drives, which were used in lieu of floppy disks and had greater memory storage capabilities.

Windows and the Internet

• Starting in the mid 1990s, and into the new millennium, features on personal computers began to change dramatically. By the mid-1990s, Microsoft introduced its Windows platform, which made navigating a personal computer more user-friendly from any of the models introduced in the prior 20 years. Also in the mid-1990s, the World Wide Web also started taking off, and Internet browsers proliferated as memory capacity increased.

Modern Computers

• Personal computers manufactured and sold after the turn of the 21st century are far more versatile than preceding models. As technological advancements have continued, computer users today can watch movies, download music, store photos and perform tasks that weren't possible on most PC models before 2000.

 

MP3 Player:

 

Format History

• Invented by an international team led by Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft, a German company, the MP3 digital audio format stands for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. Since its invention in 1991, MP3 has risen to replace and dominate all other digital audio formats because of its high quality-to-size compression ratio. With the invention of flash-based memory, MP3 players took off, eventually replacing the CD-based Discman.

Eiger Labs MPMan F10

• SaeHan Information Systems, a Seoul-based company, developed the first MP3 player sold in North America. It was imported by Eiger Labs and branded the MPMan. Appearing in stores in 1998, the MPMan had 32MB of memory and was very compact. It could not be upgraded easily, and most users found the MPMan difficult to use.

Diamond Rio PMP300

• Soon after the MPMan, a company called Diamond Multimedia launched the Diamond Rio PMP300. With a built-in screen and easy-to-use navigation, the Diamond Rio was similar to modern simple MP3 players, but like the MPMan, only had a 32MB storage capacity. Its high retail price and poor branding made the Rio popular only among a niche group.

The iPod

• MP3 players gained in popularity through the early 2000s with many manufacturers taking advantage of the new market. Hundreds of models in various styles were produced, and each had its own loyal following. In 2001, when the first iPod launched, the MP3 player was an established portable music player but the style and ease of use of the iPod opened up whole new consumer groups. Soon Apple dominated the market and continues to this day.

Future

• MP3 players have continued to evolve with more features and more storage capacity. Many new devices like PDAs, personal media players and smart phones have integrated MP3 players. Soon, MP3 players as pure music players will probably disappear and be replaced with these multi-purpose devices exemplified by the Apple iPhone.

Timeline - History of MP3

• 1987 - The Fraunhofer Institut in Germany began research code-named EUREKA project EU147, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB).
• January 1988 - Moving Picture Experts Group or MPEG was established as a subcommittee of the International Standards Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission or ISO/IEC.
• April 1989 - Fraunhofer received a German patent for MP3.
• 1992 - Fraunhofer's and Dieter Seitzer’s audio coding algorithm was integrated into MPEG-1.
• 1993 - MPEG-1 standard published.
• 1994 - MPEG-2 developed and published a year later.
• November 26, 1996 - United States patent issued for MP3.
• September 1998 - Fraunhofer started to enforce their patent rights. All developers of MP3 encoders or rippers and decoders/players now have to pay a licensing fee to Fraunhofer.
• February 1999 - A record company called SubPop is the first to distribute music tracks in the MP3 format.
• 1999 - Portable MP3 players appear.

Games Consoles:

First Generation
The origin of video game console can be traced back to the 1950s, when computer games using vector displays, not video screens, came to the scene. But, it was Magnavox that released the first console, Magnavox Odyssey, which had a video display. Initially, the Odyssey was successful only to some extent, and it was Atari's arcade game called Pong which loudly announced the entry of video games and took the public attention to the emerging industry. By 1975, Magnavox frantically suspended the sales of the Odyssey and released a new scaled down console, the Odyssey 100, that played only Pong and hockey. A higher end console called the Odyssey 200 was simultaneously released with the 100, and had added features like onscreen scoring, ability to support up to four players and had a third game - Smash. So, it was this year in which gaming consoles vigorously initiated this consumer market. This phase in the development of video game consoles is called the first generation.

Second Generation
In 1976, the Fairchild Video Entertainment System (VES) was released. This console made the first true use of the cartridge as game storage device. Previously there had been other consoles like the Odyssey that used cartridges, but had no data and served a function similar to flipping switches. The VES, on the other hand, had a programmable microprocessor and the cartridges only required a single chip (ROM) to store the processor's instructions. Soon RCA and Atari introduced their own cartridge-based consoles.

Third Generation
In 1983, Japanese gaming giant Nintendo introduced the Family Computer, also known as Famicom in Japan. It supported high-resolution sprites and with more colored tiled backgrounds. This facilitated games in Famicom to be longer and have higher graphics detailing. Famicom came over to the US in 1985 in the form of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and almost instantly gained immense popularity.

Fourth Generation
In October 1988, Sega, another electronics baron, retrieved market share by releasing its own high featured console in Japan called the Mega Drive. It was released in the U.S. in August 1989 under the brand name of Sega Genesis and in Europe a year later. Two years after this, Nintendo released its extremely popular Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). This era was a watershed in the history of video games, when video game consoles were fiercely demanded by kids across north America.

Fifth Generation
Initial fifth generation consoles included the Atari Jaguar and the 3DO, which were loaded with many more features than the Super Nintendo. But, the 3DO was more costly than the SNES and Genesis combined together while the Jaguar was not easily programmable leading to both consoles being discontinued in 1996. However, it was in this era, on December 3, 1994, that Sony's PlayStation was released in Japan and nine months later in North America. The PlayStation could have been a result of a business partnership between Sony and Nintendo to make a CD based add-on for the SNES. But, this was not to be and Nintendo walked out of the deal approached Philips. With the PS project nearing completion, Sony used its own resources and marketed this console under its own brand name, which was, undoubtedly, a landmark event.

Sixth Generation
This generation saw consoles moving towards PC-like features and mulled a shift towards using DVDs for storing game media. This led to enhanced playing experience as games were longer and had spectacular visually effects. Furthermore, this generation saw another noticeable development in the history of game consoles. There was experimentation with LAN type online console gaming and introductions of flash drives and hard drives for game data storage. Consoles like Sega's Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft XBox belonged to this era.

Seventh Generation
The most remarkable feature introduced in this time period was the new disc formats - Blu-ray Disc and the HD DVD, the later one getting discontinued soon. The use of motion as input, IR tracking (implemented on the Wii and demonstrated on the PS3) and standard wireless controllers were the highlights of this generation game consoles. This era included Microsoft's XBox 360, Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii game console which are the most sought after consoles today.

This is where we can sum up the evolution of video games and gaming consoles. The experience on modern-day gaming consoles is on a completely different level and all its spectacular features can be attributed to the immense effort put over these eras.

Sources: ehow.com and buzzle.com

 

I looked at various other websites such as techradar.com and cnet.com but ehow and buzzle produced the simplest and most straight forward explanation in an almost timeline like format.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Types Of Online Education

Use A learning Object

Advantages and Disadvantages Of e-Learning

Advantages of e-Learning

• Class work can be scheduled around personal and professional work, resulting in flexible learning.
• Reduces travel cost and time to and from school
• Learners may have the option to select learning materials that meets their level of knowledge and interest
• Learners can study wherever they have access to a computer and Internet
• Self-paced learning modules allow learners to work at their own pace
• Flexibility to join discussions in the bulletin board threaded discussion areas at any hour, or visit with classmates and instructors remotely in chat rooms
• Different learning styles are addressed and facilitation of learning occurs through varied activities
• Development of computer and Internet skills that are transferable to other facets of learner's lives
• Successfully completing online or computer-based courses builds self-knowledge and self-confidence and encourages students to take responsibility for their learning

Disadvantages of e-Learning

• Unmotivated learners or those with poor study habits may fall behind
• Lack of familiar structure and routine may take getting used to
• Students may feel isolated or miss social interaction thus the need to understanding different learning styles and individual learner needs.
• Instructor may not always be available on demand
• Slow or unreliable Internet connections can be frustrating
• Managing learning software can involve a learning curve
• Some courses such as traditional hands-on courses can be difficult to simulate

Employment Oppertunities

Employment Opportunities

New Jobs (those that were created by the technology)

• Web Designer
• Network Administrator
• IT Consultant
• IT Teacher
• Games Designer
• IT technicians
• Computer Sales
• Software Engineers
• Hardware Engineer
• Manufacturer of Technology
• Programmers
• Technical Support (Call Centres)
• Computer Security System Designer & Testers
• U-Tube Video makers
• Website managers
• Database managers

Jobs that have changed

• Sky Television Installers (there were TV installers before satellite TV was invented)
• Bloggers (previously pamphlets makers)
• Accounts
• Banking
• Shop Workers
• Film Makers
• Music Makers
• Postal Workers
• Typists (reduced as more people able to write their own letters)

Jobs that have reduced or disappeared

• shorthand typists
• ticket collectors on stations
• gas light lighters
• chimney sweeps
• thatchers
• fletchers
• stage coach drivers (became taxi drivers)
• domestic servants (new technology has meant people could do these things themselves oremploy fewer people to do the same amount of work)

Net Frog

Net Frog (http://frog.edschool.virginia.edu/Frog2/)

Net Frog is a website which allows the user to interact with a simulation of disecting a frog.

Here is an image of the first screen you are brought to:

 It tells you why you should disect a frog, offers resources and research towards frog disection. This is very useful if you are not familiar with what the site is about and even if you are knew to learning biology.

As you begin to flick between each slide, you may notice that the website looks very basic, almost as if it was made by Microsoft Front Page. It could do with being updated to look modern and maybe a little bit more elegant or classy to compensate for the people that find frog disection an unsettling subject.

However, despite the lack of artistic vision, each slide comes complete with a clear heading putting each step in to a nutshell, and giving you more detail in little bullet points. So despite the basic look of the website it is proving itself to be clear and straight to the point providing at least some clarity for the user.

If you have a reading disability or are just to lazy to read the steps it provides on each slide, you may notice the cute little audio clip, or 'narrative' as they call it. This will also come in useful for auditory learners. Some slides even provide a video for people who like seeing frogs corpses being totally destroyed and for those who learn better through visual aids.

If you are new to the linguistics of biology or more specificaly frog disection, certain key words are highlighted in blue and underlined. Upon the act of clicking these words a new window will be opened to give you a definition of that word.

There are also images next to the slide showing you where the knife should go, what organs are where etc.

Out of the ridiculous large sum of slides it provides, it finally gives you a review of what you've been doing and encourages you to keep learning by providing you with links to revision sites etc.

Overall, it makes a good but somewhat flawed attempt at looking classy, it needs visual updates (how the page looks, the layout is simple but effective (yeah I know that's a cliche phrase that middle school students use when describing things) but it's true. It's clear, not over complicated, it's great for finacially challenged schools and easy to learn from for people with minor disabilities.

HOLY LORD THIS POST WAS GOOD.