Future of the Internet

The future of the internet is something that is very exciting to ponder about. If I let my imagination run wild, I would imagine a world where holograms and information is literally at your fingertips. I imagine a world where computers are the size of microchips that are embedded in our brains that can give us any information we want just by thinking or saying it. These, to me, are all fantasies that are a little far-fetched, unrealistic visions at least for the near future.

If I were to put a more realistic spin to how I envision the internet to be in about 20 to 30 years’ time, I would say that the internet would incorporate artificial intelligence. I think that soon enough, we will be able to speak to our computers, telling them what exactly we want them to do for us. For example, if we wanted to pay for our bills, we could tell our computers to access our bank accounts and process the payments automatically. Furthermore, technologies and software would converge on the internet. For example, it would be as easy to view television programs on the internet as it is today on conventional television sets. Satellite technology would also allow for a diverse spectrum of programs from every corner of the globe. Basically, it will be a world where media knows no boundaries and is available at the click of a button, with no frills and inconvenient downloading of software needed.

I am personally excited to see if my visions of what the internet will be like in the future come true. I think it will be an even more technology-reliant world that will only get more and more so in an exponential manner. Whether technology will be the glory or ruin of mankind, I don’t know. I guess we have to wait and see, but nevertheless, there are exciting times ahead.

Internet Journalism

Journalism is an area of interest that I have and a field that I may possibly enter in the future as a starting career. It is exciting to me because I love to write and enjoy new experiences. Although I don’t think that the internet will change the face of journalism wholesale, I do acknowledge that it has a dramatic effect on the trend that will follow as a result of this.
The internet has brought about this new thing called citizen journalism. What this means is that anyone can become a self-proclaimed journalist in their own right on the internet. The nature of the internet makes this so because anybody can write anything they want and put it on the web. The implications this has for professional journalism are abundant. Whatever is written and posted on the internet now comes under much scrutiny with respect to credibility. Internet users are not naive and wary of opinion based writings that claim to be factual and based on truth. The widespread array of unreliable sources on the internet has led to a loss of credibility and skepticism which has affected professional journalism, which, I might add, has not had a terrific reputation to begin with, especially in America.

Citizen journalism also challenges professional journalism in the sense that now, the airing of opinions to the public is no longer confined to those who practice journalism as a profession. Now everybody can share their thoughts and views with a large audience. This affects society socially in an extremely complex manner. To put it simply, discerning what to believe is becoming more and more difficult. I know that that may be a good thing, because it is more democratic, and people would not be brainwashed so easily by a few large organizations, be it government agencies or religious institutions. However, by the same token, the web is now characterized by an overload of information. It has gone to the other extreme now.

Internet and Politics

The internet is a powerful tool, with its uses extending beyond the realms of entertainment. It can be used for formal purposes too. Increasingly, it is becoming common for government agencies to utilize the internet too for garnering support through feedback platforms for instance. However, there are some cases now of the internet being used for political agendas.
This comes as no surprise to me because of two reasons. Firstly, political campaigns aimed at gaining supporters need to reach out to as many individuals in society as they can, and the internet is the fastest medium to do so. The second reason is that the internet is interactive, especially when compared to traditional mass media like television and the radio which are examples of one-way communication. Channels for feedback and comments give people a sense of empowerment. The internet provides a feasible avenue for this. It is also a great strategy to reach out to the youths in society, for it is no secret that the most frequent users of the internet come from the teen and young adult population of the general public. Speaking about the youth, those in Singapore have become rather apathetic to political issues in recent times. One explanation I can offer for this trend is that they feel that the government in Singapore is autocratic and would not take feedback seriously anyway, and do only enough to appease those who are voicing their opinions.

Now on the other hand, the internet is a relatively new medium for the art of politics invade, and therefore many questions and limitations are present as well. For starters, people are always skeptical about the content that is posted on the internet because of the amount of “rubbish” on the web today. People may not take political campaigns too seriously in that sense if it were promoted on the internet solely without accompanying use of other media such as television and print ads. The internet also would not be able to reach a particular section of society – the elderly. Many of them do not know how to use the internet, either they no longer have the learning capacity or they refuse to learn to begin with. With life expectations always on the rise, the aged population will only get larger and their inaccessibility to the internet is a major drawback to the usage of the internet for political purposes.

Multimedia on the internet

There is a whole range of mobile phone to choose from nowadays, with each one trying to market itself as better than the other. However, the two phones that impress me the most are the iphone and the blackberry. I have not seen many advertisements for either on television or even online. However, I have seen the promotional videos where the creators like Steve Jobs for example, explains what is so great about the respective phones. I have observed that although there are many differences, there is one glaring similarity – that both these great phones utilize multimedia to provide an array of services to the user.

Both phones allow users to create, view and access any electronic content by having multimedia platforms. In addition to the basic calling and messaging functions, they allow you to check your email, surf the internet, watch videos, and even listen to audio podcasts, all on one mobile device. Not long ago, surfing the internet from your mobile phone was just a thought. A wish. Now you can check your social networking websites, send and receive emails, and even watch vidfeos on YouTube. The access to the internet via multimedia platforms has become an expectation for a mobile phone since the first "smartphones" were introduced.

Going back to the iphone versus the blackberry. Whichever phone can offer more multimedia services is seen as more advanced and more desirable. This is the department where Blackberry and the iphone trump all competitors and rivals, in my opinion at least. The makers of these two phones really understand what people want in their mobile phone and they make it so easy and user-friendly, which adds to the already extremely attractive functions and packaging. The image that they try and promote are vastly different however. The iphone wants to be seen as cool and trendy, appealing to the young too with the game applications. The blackberry on the other hand, has gone for a more corporate and professional image, wanting to be seen as the ultimate phone for working adults. Personally, I cant decide between the two. I currently use the iphone but am giving serious thought to converting to a blackberry.

Internet Security

If there is one thorn in the side of the internet that is most painful and difficult to eradicate, it is cybercrime. Cybercrime is rampant everywhere, No one is safe as long as you are logged on. Anti-virus technology can counter it to some extent, but viruses are ever-changing, and new ones are being created everyday. It is a battle that will rage on for as long as I can see.
According to ZDNet Asia news, in 2007, Singapore was ranked second in terms of the level of malicious activity per user, second only to Taiwan. This does not mean that Singapore has a high level of malicious activity, but it does for its small population, which is severe enough.

There are many antivirus software that can prevent malicious activity on one’s computer. I find the antivirus software called Avast to be very effective. Recently my PC was hit by a Trojan virus that was dormant in my MSN messenger. It corrupted my internet to the point that I was not allowed to surf the web properly. Also, strange things would happen spontaneously such as my sound drive not being detected, leaving my computer with no volume control at all. It was very frustrating so I asked around for recommendations of antivirus software and Avast came up a lot. So I gave it a shot and it not only cleaned up my computer but now prevents any other viruses from infecting it. The best thing is that it’s free!! Having said that, I think my next computer will be a Mac. Yes, I am defecting in a short while to the other side. They say everyone who converts to Mac never goes back to PC. Well, I’m willing to put that to the test because I am sick and tired of having to deal with the problems that PC doesn’t seem to be able to solve.

Internet Tools

I don't have any videos of myself on my computer because my personal laptop crashed with a virus and I'm currently using a spare laptop. However I did manage to retrieve some of my favorite pictures and make a slideshow out of it. Hope you enjoy it!

Power of Internet for Learning

Microsoft surface technology was so fascinating to read about. It is exciting just thinking about that kind of technology being something we use everyday like the internet. Ever since I watched minority report, I have dreamed about such technology becoming available in reality. I’m really not making that up! So for me to actually see Microsoft developing something that is rather similar is really exhilarating.

I have read that that Microsoft Surface can detect up to 52 touches at a time, which means everybody at the table at a restaurant can be ordering their food at the same time, or an entire family can be looking through catalogs at boutiques simultaneously. I imagine that in the next five or ten years, Microsoft technology will be used in every shop, or at least every café, bar and restaurant . It will revolutionize the way we order, pay for and even customize our purchases. A unit, they say, would cost approximately US$ 12,500, which I believe will drop dramatically once it becomes a commodity in stores and malls around the globe.

To end off, I would like to offer an analogy for this newfound technology. For some strange reason, while reading about this intriguing technology, I likened it in my mind to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon in 1969. At the time, it was only a dream. A figment of imagination. But it was made real. Microsoft Surface, to me, is exactly like that. It was a fantasy that is now a reality.