schedule
Week 2: Evolution of Digital Communication
questions
Societal Impacts
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Many people believe that communication technology could have very negative affects on society, but much of technology has also had good affects on society because many of them have been used in ways other than what it was designed to be used for. Wouldn't it be safe to say that even though communication technologies can have negative affects, positive affects can be found in nearly all communication technologies in some shape or form?
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How does society make it (the Net) more accessible?
- How does society keep up with the advances of the Internet?
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In respect to reliable (or dependable) technology, what are the social ramifications of our modern machines?
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what are some possible unforeseen uses and problems with communication technology today?
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Do you think that the speed in which we now communicate (e-mail, mobile phones, etc.) has improved our communication?
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In what ways has technology increased interdependence? Has it created a more homogeneous world as well?
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I would like to see how Bush would respond to the technological advances of today? Would he believe we are using technology to increase control of our 'material existence?'
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How important is it for people to grasp the vast history behind our technological advances? Do people completely take for granted all the conveniences we have in today's society?
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I don't remember, please remind me what life was like back before the cellphone, laptop, and cable internet.
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What do you think the biggest change due to communication technology in everyday life will be in the next few years?
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How do you predict the internet and new technologies will change shopping in the future?
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Can technology ever push its limits too far?
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How much further can the internet take us? It already provides us with a way for immediate connection to others and an endless amount of information. What other tasks could it do in order to make our life better?
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Do you think people who use various technologies during their daily lives become reliant on these technologies and are unable to function normally without them?
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Are new technologies good for society?
Adoption and Replacement
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My question about this section is that I agree that a "new medium has to find its economic place," however once it becomes attainable at different economic levels, does the medium have to be replaces because it has lost its status?
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There are environmental benefits from the advancement of technology, specifically from computers. If in the future, all of academia (from grade school & beyond) required only computer-based work, what would your response be to the change? Why?
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Was Bush's prediction of the computer and other technologies original, or were such technological advances inevitable?
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In what ways do new technologies imitate older ones? Why would this tend to be true; what might inventors be trying to accomplish with this?
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What technologies of today will eventually "go out of style" and be replaced by more advanced technologies?
Media / Convergence
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How is the Internet a "hybrid" (medium)?
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The "memex" discussed in "As We May Think" sound like many technologies that we use today. Could this be related to what is discussed in the article "Networks of Remediation"? Could what we have today be considered a remediated version of the ideas discussed in "As We May Think" ?
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Do you think print-based newspapers will exists in the next 10 years? Why or why not?
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Which factor do you think contributes the most to the creation of a new medium?
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Are products such as I-Pods changing how we look at the internet and what people use the internet for?
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Will breaking news stories be revealed to the public even quicker in the upcoming years? Or have we seen the internet as the fastest way to share information?
Future Technologies?
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In his article, Bush was very close to predicting the kinds of technologies that would be used in the future, which are what we use today. At the time the article was written, it almost seemed that such technologies were impossible. Since we have achieved this, what could the next new and advanced technology be?
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If Roger Fidler was to revise this chapter what would he decide to add about the Internet. For instance would he think that blogs are going to have a big enough impact in the long term that he would deem them important enough to include in his chapter?
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How can logic of machines exceed the logic of the people who created it?
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Where can the internet go from here in making our lives easier?
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What comes after the Internet? Can we become even more connected with information than we are?
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How is the technology used for communication (e-mail, video conferencing, blogs, etc.) through the Internet being upgraded?
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What new technology (in your opinion) we see today will have the greatest influence in the next ten years or so upon our everyday life?
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Where do you see communication technology going in the next 20 years?
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What technological innovations do you think will take place in the next 20 years?
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Do you think the article "As we may think" accurately predicated future technologies? Why or why not?
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What is the next "big thing"?
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We may think we're living in a technologically advanced world, but what new technologies and science will the future bring
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