Friday, November 9, 2007

Next-gen consoles take center stage

Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony like to challenge one another. At E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony have revealed their creations for the up and coming year. Microsoft's was the new XBOX 360, Nintendo's was the Wii or Revolution, and Sony's was the Playstation 3. All of them showed promise and with their features, everyone wanted one.     According to CNET, Sony shipped about 5 million units, making up 42% of the market, while Microsoft shipped about 3.4 million for 28.3% in 2004. Nintendo shipped 2.5 million consoles for 21.2% of the market. Xbox is also behind the PlayStation2, with 12.1 million currently on the market, compared with 30.8 million Sony units. GameCube logs in with 9.1 million units.     With those numbers you can't beat Sony, but the 360 has a lot of great games out there and most of the games are on the 360 while the PS3 has almost no games out on the market. With the games that people have been waiting for they will have to buy a PS3 now, because of people's favorite titles that are finally coming out on the PS3, not on the 360.     1. What do you think of the nexgen consoles?     2. What console(s) do you own? Why did you get one?     3. What do you think about these numbers?     4. Is there a favorite title coming out that you like?     5. How could the companies increase their market share? Posted by 19834 on 11/9/07; 10:28:13 AM from the Andy dept. Discuss (3 responses)

Monday, October 29, 2007

Reflecting on Literacy and How We Communicate Today

In a recent article written by Will Richardson (http://weblogg-ed.com/2007/pushing-writing-literacy/ ), he suggests that we take a deeper look at what literacy is in this age of technology. He suggests that our traditional ideas about literacy need to be looked at, as there are several modern forms including: •    Blogging •    Commenting •    Twittering (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter ) •    Articles and Essays •    Chatting (Instant Messaging) •    Text messaging •    Digital Story Telling [movies, podcasting (audio & video)] In a half-page response: 1.    Explain the various forms in which we communicate (see the list above). 2.    Describe how communication has changed from traditional forms to today’s methods.  3.    Do you feel that we are becoming better writers, and better communicators or is there a trend towards “hiding” behind technology to communicate? 4.    Is there still room for traditional forms of literacy and communication (i.e. formal letter writing, reading print books, etc.)? Posted by Mr. McInnes on 10/29/07; 11:11:08 AM from the Mr. McInnes dept. Discuss (4 responses)

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Pentagon, Truth or Deception?

The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington, Virginia. As you recall, 6 years ago the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon where hit by aircraft. The Trade Centers by 747s and the Pentagon by a 757. Wait, a 757? How is it possible for a plane that size to hit the Pentagon and not have damaged the lawn or make a hole in the building half it's size? There were only a few people that actually “saw” the “757” fly over the traffic and take out a chunk out of the Pentagon. Watch this movie (http://www.freedomunderground.org/memoryhole/pentagon.php) about the Pentagon on that day and check out other websites about what happened that day. 1) Why would the FBI try so hard to conceal every video that has footage of the actual crash? 2) Do you think that the video was bias or fake? Why? 3) What would be the motivation to second-guess a plane actually hitting the Pentagon? 4) What technology tools or software could have been used to manipulate the pictures and videos? Posted by 26094 on 10/26/07; 10:38:24 AM from the Dylan dept. Discuss (3 responses)

Friday, October 19, 2007

China Takes Control of Search Engines in Response to Dalai Lama Receiving Award

Experts believe that China recently blocked its web users from accessing Google and Yahoo search engines/directories, in response to the Dalai Lama being awarded the American Congressional Gold Medal. Web users that attempted to access certain web sites (YouTube and Flicker were also included) were redirected to a Chinese-owned Baidu search engine. Read the linked news article and then respond: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/10/18/tech-china.html Respond to the following questions in a well thought out 2-3-paragraph response. 1.    What connection would the Dalai Lama receiving an award have to do with blocking access to web sites? 2.    Why do you think the Chinese government might respond in this fashion? 3.    Do you think this is an effective strategy to control or influence the Chinese population? 4.    How important is technology in our basic right to freedom of information? Posted by Mr. McInnes on 10/19/07; 10:55:58 AM from the dept. Discuss (5 responses)

Friday, October 12, 2007

Music in the New World

Radiohead is about to release their latest album "Rainbow" from their official web site. The catch is that they are leaving it to their fans to decide how much to pay for it! Fans can pay anywhere from nothing up to 100 pounds. Radiohead has faith in its fans that people will act out of fairness and pay a fair price for the album. Respond to the following questions in a well thought out 2-3 paragraph response. What are your impressions of this bold move? Do you think Radiohead is crazy to suggest this? Do you think Radiohead is trying to make a point? Do you think this may influence people who download music illegally to re-think their actions? To read more about this story go to the BBC news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7037219.stm Posted by Mr. McInnes on 10/12/07; 11:29:24 AM from the Mr. McInnes dept. Discuss (12 responses)