Red Queens and Increasing Returns

When trying to decide which movie to select for the module 4 science fiction discussion question which was based on one of Philip Dick books, I called a friend of mine that has a Netflix account. I asked her to go through her program to see if she could find any of the movies that I called out to her over the telephone. Meanwhile, I visited our local video store “Video Warehouse” and had the salesperson to look up each of the movies on their computer. According to her computer, she did have the movie “Paycheck” in store on the shelf but unfortunately she was unable to locate the movie. My friend called back and said she had found the movie “Blade Runner” through Netflix which she would have to show on television because she had cancelled her DVD rental account with Netflix. In other words I ended up viewing the movie from Netflix on my friend’s television.

According to Dr. Thornburg, increasing returns is when “two technologies hit at around the same time with one getting locked in and drives the other technology into extinction (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).” I would say that the competition between the DVD and Video on demand is an example of increasing returns because they both hit the market around the early 1990s. Part of the definition of increasing returns states that one technology gets locked in (Video on demand) and the locked in technology drives the other technology (DVD) into extinction.  This is exactly what is happening to DVD rental stores. At one time in my hometown which is small, we had about 4 video DVD and VHS rental store but we now have one DVD rental store and a lot of red boxes around town.

There is competition between DVD rental stores and video on demand because for one thing when renting DVDs one is faced with the problem of going to the store to pick them up, having to get them back by a certain day, if they are late having to pay a late fee, and going to the store to take them back. Video on demand is provided by the cable company according to their cable packages. There is an extra fee when ordering video on demand movies if none of the following packages are ordered such as starz, encore, showtime and HBO but you don’t have to leave home to acquire them or take them back.  

On McLuhan’s tetrad (enhances, obsoletes, reverses, and retrieves), DVD is becoming obsolete (fading out) so it would be on the tetrad as obsolete. Video-on-demand is what is making the DVD become obsolete. VOD would be on the tetrad under enhances because of its availability. A DVD has to be loaded and unloaded into and out of a DVD player whereas, VOD are already loaded onto the television. DVD and VOD both rekindle a form of storytelling because they tell a story that interest people.

Reference

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). Increasing returns. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Marion Bush

Module 4-Second Life

Dr. Thornburg states that a disruptive technology is a “new technology that surfaces without any warning, does the same thing as another technology but more efficiently, and changes things in the process (Laureate Education, Inc, 2011).” Second Life is a mass multi-player universe, 3-D online virtual world where avatars do the things that real people do in real life. It  was created by San Francisco-based software maker Linden Labs and was founded by Philip Rosedale. It is created by membership in which the members get an identity as an avatar and take up residence. The avatar moves from place to place by using the mouse and some of the keyboard buttons. Second Life is a place the avatar can connect, shop, work, explore, change your look, find love or romance, free your mind buy property, start businesses, play games, create objects, join clubs, attend classes, or hang out. It also includes sound such as the wind blowing, brooks flowing, audible conversation, and built in chatting as well as instant messaging. Second Life is a disruptive technology because it was built to mirror the Internet.

Second Life replaces social interaction websites because it has so many ways for people to meet, talk, interact and find and meet new people. It will replace traditional face to face instruction, some online virtual games, training and workshops for businesses, and virtual zoos, museums and tours. Second Life provide its members or residents everything that they would need out in the real world such as schools, jobs, social activities, stores, parks and zoos.

It does seem that in the near future Second Life will be replaced by other technology such as OpenSim World. According to Schonfield, “browser-based virtual worlds (Google Lively) and client-based world (Like Worlds of Warcraft) are technologies that will soon replace Second Life (Schonfield, 2008).” Also, there is the possibility of a technology emerging that lets the actual member or resident visit Second Life as themselves.

Second Life allows people to interact socially and economically. They can interact and communicate by textual chat, verbal communication, meeting people in dance clubs, and joining in with people with the same interest as well as interacting on their jobs. Second Life provides shopping which is a way that some people like to get together and socialize with other people.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Disruptive technology. Baltimore,

MD: Author

Schonfield, E. (2008). Philip Rosedale doesn't see browser-based virtual worlds as a

threat to second life. is he in denial? Retrieved from

http://techcrunch.com/2008/07/31/philip-rosedale-doesnt-see-browser-based-virtual-worlds-as-a-threat-to-second-life-is-he-in-denial/

 

ScienceDaily. (2008). Science news second life improves real-life social skills.

Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080717210838.htm

Module 3 Rhymes of History

Rhymes of History

Dr. Thornburg defines the rhymes of history as “the impact of a new development or technology that rekindles something from the distant past (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).” What this means is that the technology actually goes through a stage in history and repeats a previous technology. 

A technology that is a rhyme of history is the cell phone. The cell phone emerged in “1973 when Dr. Martin Cooper made the first call on a handheld cell phone (Cell Phones.Org., 2008). The cell phone has changed the way people communicate with each other and not just on the national level but on a global level. This technology emerged as a mobile phone that was used mainly by business people or rich people. It rekindles the various forms of communication that people used in the past which are by drawings on cave walls, the alphabets, face to face, telegraphs, Pony Express, postal service, western union and landline telephones.

Over the years cell phones have changed in size as well as price. Today, cell phones are used by people everywhere and of all ages. People use them to talk to each other as well as to use other features such as voicemail, email, social networking or social beat, and text messaging. For some people cell phones have replaced landline telephones, this is because cell phones can be used on the go and it is wireless.

.

References:

Cell phones.org. (2008). Cell phone history. Retrieved from

http://cellphones.org/cell-phone-history.html

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). Rhymes of history. Baltimore, MD: Author

Module 2 Tetrad

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Module 1 Blog Trends

http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/

Emerging Technology

A current technology that emerged last year (2010) was the ipad. The ipad is a tablet of computers that was developed, designed and marketed by the Apple Inc. It is a tool that is easy to use, multi-featured and touch screen, portable, and lightweight. It has proven to be and a successful technology tool which “sits somewhere between the Smartphone and the laptop because of its better performance of certain things such as reading ebooks, browsing the internet and playing videos (New York Times, 2011). Since the release of the ipad, schools across the US are embracing this multimedia teaching tool because it offers enhanced ebooks that features images, video and audio.  

In the classroom the ipad provides a more engaging experience for the students. Also, it can be used in the classroom for reading, listening/viewing, conducting research, organizing, publishing, communicating/collaborating, facilitating note taking, offering individualized instruction, teaching personal responsibility and gaming.

A challenge of the ipad is the cost which is around/between $400.00 to $800.00 which makes it more expensive compared to the Kindle.  The ipad’s cost is a challenge because of budget cuts in education and school systems around the nation. Another challenge is that the ipad does not consolidate gadgets, lack e-textbooks, no camera, and no citation/equation support.  Another  problem of the ipad is its limited availability in higher education because of Apple’s supply issues.  

The ipad’s societal need is that it is a family oriented interactive technology learning tool. It can replace books, magazines and newspapers. It can be used or shared by more than one person to read about what’s happening in the news or to check their email. Professional development on the proper use of the ipad for teachers and students in order for it to be used effectively the classroom.

To make the ipad better, Apple would have to lower the cost so that it could be affordable for school systems that may have some grant money to spend. Apple should fix their supply issues so that the ipad can be available in higher education as needed for learning and student engagement.

Apple Inc. (2011). Learning with the ipad. Apple in education. Retrieved from

http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/

The New York Times. (2011). Ipad. Retrieved from

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/ipad/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier