In class we saw a video about "Multitouch computing” which was hosted by Jeff Han . Multitouch computing is as Jeff Han explained it a new kind of technology that responds to multiple inputs by multiple fingers-even multiple users-at the same time and will be seen everyone in just a few years. This new technology will soon transform the way we interact with computers. Devices that have multitouch sensing are able to accomadate multipkle users simultaneously, which is useful for larger interaction scenarios such as interactive walls and table tops. The major reseacher Jeff Han has spun his research into a startup company called Perceptive Pixel. This company creates large-scale, purposebuilt multitouch screens for military and industrial clients.Perceptive Pixel creates two main types of multitouch machines, a drafting-table display and a huge wall-mounted interactive screen.As for right now the biggest news yet in multitouch is the Apple’s iPhone, and iPods. Soon different kinds of multitocuh machines will be in the world that will help us.
In class yesterday we saw a video called “4 Generations: Water Buffalo” by Robert Thompson. Since we are working on improving our technology skills, we got into partners or groups and took notes on the video collaborating with each other. My partner for this activity is Noe which contributed in the notes.This video has an interesting background in how it got started. The beginning of this video started with a post written by Philip Greenspun, that wrote about his friend getting a crummy present for Christmas,a water buffalo. And was commented by Robert Thompson, this is what he had to say: “I’m an American living in China with my wife. I live in a small, mountainous town in Yunnan (southeastern province).
The only reason this is a crummy present is because (as you mention above) they don’t actually give anyone a water buffalo. I would puruse the links in your post now, but all outbound Internet from China is currently disrupted due to the earthquake in Taiwan. (Your page and Gmail are the only two exceptions to date.
After reading your blog I drove out to the fields and I asked local farmers (who are poor and the lowest class in China) whether a water buffalo would be a good gift or not. They said a water buffalo would be “zui hao de liwu”, or “the best gift” without hesitation.
When I asked why they gave a few reasons. Water buffalo are used to turn the soil in the fields. As adults, they can be sold for up to 4,000 RMB, or about $500 USD. 4,000 RMB is more than an average farmer makes here in a year in Yunnan, by about double (less the tobacco farmers, they make a little more.) Lastly, though their meat is not as good as the “hong niu”, or “red buffalos” here in China, water buffalo can be used as a food source for a very long time.As a Christmas present to someone in the US, yeah, maybe a gift card from B&H would have been a better choice. But if this charity actually bought water buffalos for the poor in China (and other parts of Asia) it seems like a good idea…” From then on it exploded. Thompson was also commented by Greenspun and asked, “… If I sent you some cash, do you think that you could find a water buffalo and give it away to a worthy family, then take pictures of them with said buffalo (might be best to get a young buffalo so that we can see him/her growing up)?” Thompson responded by,”… I asked my wife’s extended family (who are farmers) about purchasing a water buffalo. This is what I learned: Small buffalo sell between 1,000 - 2,000 RMB and are more difficult to buy because the “mai niu de” (or buffalo salespeople) would rather keep them and sell them for 4,000 or 5,000 when they’re adults. An adult female buffalo is a better choice as a gift because as an adult it is strong enough to work immediately, and it can produce offspring creating more wealth for the family in the future.Small buffalo cannot work for about two years. While I’m sure a family would be grateful for any gift, this would be one that would give back after about two years.
If you want to buy a water buffalo for a family in need here in Yunnan, China, we could easily help you. I could make a video and take pictures of the process for you…”After this Thompson did exactly what he said made a video that explain how much a water buffalo was worth to a family in China. This video was recognized around the network by Will Richardson and Karl Fisch. In a way this video was a good thing that the network can do, not just the pornography, and all the bad things people have said about the network. I think this is a great way to show how the network can be used not only for bad things but for good. Thompson and Greenspun did a great thing, that showed everyone the good in the network.
In class we saw the video “Blogs In Plain English” by Lee and Sachi LeFever that explained what “blogs” were and there history. During the 20th century blogs were only used in “professional” matter which were general and limited. While in the 21st century the blogs became both “professional” and “personal” which let anyone be a reporter for free. The definition of blogs is, websites that are organized by blog posts. Blogs posts can make up a conversation with people on the web, they are a two way streak. Also, in the video it said that there is online community of bloggers. In 2003 there were 70 million blogs created because of the 21st century that helped people like us get the power of media. This video was an excellent introduction and informer of what “blogs” do. This video was made by the common craft show you can visit there website at www.commoncraft.com/show for more information about blogs and this video.
In class we saw a video about the “One Laptop Per Child” program in the video the founder Nicholas Negroponte was presenting and explaining the idea of this program. The first thing Negroponte said in the beginning of the video is that it’s not a “laptop” program it’s a educational. The video presented the ideas and the accomplishments this program would do for children in industrialized countries, where children don’t have the same help as we do living in the United States. Some questions that I had after watching the twenty minute video were, how were the children in these foreign countries going learn how to use them, when they don’t even get help learning other educational information?Another question that I had about the OLPC is why did they only put the laptop in market for such a short time? Also, does he believe this will actually work? and, what inspired him to built this project?
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By: MillyNet
