Just stumbled accross this video whilst researching privacy issues related to the google toolbar. I’m sure it will be an eye opener to some people.
An interesting interview with Steve Ballmer CEO at Microsoft.
To read the full article over at techcrunch.com click here
For this module I will design and create a working prototype of a single player shooter game. I plan to produce a modern version of the classic asteroids game released in 1979 by Atari Inc. Using Adobe Flash CS3 and the Flash Media Server 3 I will create an updatable scoring system, which will enable a real time data, users will be able to potentially watch other players climb the rankings on the score board. Sticking to the set criteria I will use an object orientated approach to the design and structure of the coding. Objects will also take on “lifelike behaviours”, for this I will give objects their own set of individual characteristics, for example dynamic speed, gravity and so forth. Bee’s will fly and the plane will have a thrust like momentum, bullets will also act in a projectile way relevant to the current speed of the plane.
Following the original concept of asteroids, with a modern touch the user will be presented with a series of levels on which he/she must progress. This is done by killing enemy bees on the stage, this will enable the user to gain points and advance to the next level. Collisions with the bees results in damage to the players health, this adds to the gaming experience giving the game some level of difficult , which will intensify as the user progresses.
As the game will be creating objects dynamically along with movieclips and actionscript code (a significant number of them), I will need to consider how I will manage these objects and create effective ways to reduce and remove them when they are no longer needed, reducing the overall load on the operating system. Updating the score via the FMS will also be done in a way that reduces network traffic, enabling even the lowest of bandwidth users the opportunity to run the game effectively without lagging or delay.
To minimise code and to utilise simpler/effective ways of coding I will adopt the object orientated way of coding, creating 3 master actionscript classes Bee.as, Bullet.as, and Plane.as. Each of which will have their own characteristics and functions.
My idea aims to raise questions relating to digital privacy on the Internet. Should our online activity really be tracked?
I want to explore the many issues and debates with regards to anonymous browsing and digital privacy on the web. Some of the issues that I would like to research further include; Have we become ignorant to the fact that nearly every step we take on the web can be logged, traced, stored and used to “help improve” our web experience?
A major debate online questions Google Inc’s Privacy Policies and their attitude to data privacy. With the slogan “Don’t Be Evil” how can we be sure that this is not a tactical ploy to reel us in and to make us feel safe? There has to be some motive to giving out free applications and features.
By using existing technologies I aim to demonstrate whether or not the power and information that these businesses hold on us as individuals is being used to benefit the end user or instead to benefit the companies themselves. From the moment we log on to their websites they are aware of a multitude of information, ranging from what operating system we are running to personal information such as our location. Google Inc for example, offers a range of services and by signing up to just a few of these services they will know where you live, your age, and even your bank account details. As Google now own some of our largest online and offline services and products are they really looking after our data or are they using it to take over the web? At present our personal data is in safe hands, or so we would like to think. With the recent legal between Google’s YouTube and Viacom, our information is no longer in trusted hands.
My aim is to expose how and why these companies gather, utilise and process our data. I will pay particular attention to the motives of capturing and mining data on the web and the effects of these actions. Are these motives for the good of the public, a way to enhance the user’s web experience, or just a sneaky way to increase profitability, hits and above all to gain even more market share?
Anonymousity, Privacy, Data mining, Internet Coporations, Digital Privacy
This project is innovative as it will look at both new and existing debates surrounding the field of privacy on the web. Although previous research into this area has been done, the web is an ever changing environment. As a result of this growth and change more powerful and innovative methods are being developed and introduced by companies allowing them to further data mining.
There are numerous resources online all with direct information on specific aspects of privacy, relating to companies such as Google.
The target audience for this piece would be individuals who are unaware to the data collection of such corporate firms. I will aim to target Google inc customers/users as in January 2008 they owned 68.8% of the search engine market compared the other big players in the search engine field.
At the moment I have not fully decided on which way to take my project but i have been considering a number of ideas:
- One of the ideas is to create an interactive which will expose the information that Google harvests. Users could select the services to which they utilise or are subscribed to, be it you tube, Google mail, Google search. The output from the installation would give the user an insight into how much of their personal information these companies have.
- Another of my ideas is to create some kind of tool / aid to reduce the amount of data captured by such global data mining companies. Tolls could include a new web browser or even a website with tool kits and steps to reduce data capturing.
I feel the project is a directly related to the industry as there is ever growing concerns regarding anonymous browsing. I plan to base my project on both the internet and on the actions of Google as culturally they both used by millions globally and Google is one of the most dominant figures of the internet today. It also relates to political / industrial events when the lawsuit between YouTube and Viacom.
The technologies that I am considering using will use will be mainly web based, using a combination of Flash, PHP, Java, HTML and possibly some api’s.
To begin the production of the project I will firstly need to form a more solid idea/realisation for the project, pinning down the conceptual and cultural aspect. After talking it over with a project supervisor I am sure that my idea will become more solid allowing me to explore more areas and offer a more focused approach to the project. I will need to consider more precisely how I will technically achieve the results and what methods I will take to embed the effects of using such companies into the viewers mind.
Researching will pay a heavy part in the concept of the project. My initial area of research will be looking into the way these companies harvest our information, revealing the subtle techniques they use to track our everyday movements. From the location in which we log on, to whom we are emailing and even what we are emailing.
After defining my research area I will begin to build a number of prototypes, of which I will experiment and test.
Simple short and sweet. If you have ever needed to flip a movieclip so its infact facing the other way use the following:
mymovieclipname._xscale=-100;
I recently stumbled across a short video made by Googles Maile Ohye, one of the “support enginers” at Google Inc. The video goes into a simple exmplanation of googles privacy and what private information google stores when you make a simple search query.
Very well explained and even has some lovely diagrams….
As the web technologies advance are we giving away too much information about personal lives? Should we be taking steps to enable anonymous browsing of the Internet?
The area that I am most interested in and wish to explore revolves around the many issues and debates with regards to anonymous browsing and digital privacy on the web. Some of the issues that I would like to research further include; Have we become ignorant to the fact that nearly every step we take on the web can be logged, traced, stored and used to “help improve” our web experience?
A major debate online questions Google Inc’s Privacy Policies and their attitude to data privacy. With the slogan “Don’t Be Evil” how can we be sure that this is not a tactical ploy to reel us in and to make us feel safe?
By looking at current debates in this topic area I plan to investigate the motives of capturing and mining data on the web and the effects of these actions. Are these motives for the good of the public or just a sneaky way to increasing profitability, hits and above all gaining even more market share? Or, are their methods for the good of the user’s web experience?
By conducting this investigation I want to understand why and how these companies gather, utilise and process our data. Determining whether or not the power and information that these businesses hold on us as individuals is being used to benefit the end user or benefit the companies themselves. From the second we log on to their websites they are aware of a multitude of information, ranging from what operating system we are running to personal information such as our location. For example Google offer a range of services and by signing up to just a few of their services they will know where you live, your age, and even your bank account details. As Google now own some of our largest online and offline services and products are they really looking after our data or are they using it to take over the web? At present our personal data is in safe hands, or so we would like to think. However, what impact could it have on our lives if companies such as Google change their tactics, policies, or owners?
The desired aim for the project is to create a multilayered representation of a space which is yet to be defined; initial thoughts are the possibility of architecture represented in the form of 3D modelling. As transformation has been the theme of this module I want to show the transformation of somewhere or something that we ignore and take for granted through the period of a day offering the user the experience to travel through time forwards and backwards, enabling a non linear narrative.
The end result will be a video demonstration of the interaction a human could have with a future system. This will demonstrate the notion of being able to document and explore time and space itself.
The inspiration of the project has come from a number of existing “solutions” which try to capturing/represent time and space. Having a particular interest in photography one of the early concepts for capturing time and space was that of Henri Lartigue in the early 60’s with the invention of Slit Scan photography, which was later used in Stanley Kubrick’s, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Basing most of my research on this technique I was lead to the inspiring work of digital artist Alvaro Cassinelli. His interactive installation “The Khronos Projector” created “a video time-warping machine with a tangible deformable screen”. This was a physical environment in which a user can interact and move through time and space through the use of video based media.
To realise the project fully I will need to first define what the end result will be. Choosing my object/environment will be a crucial element to the project and will need careful consideration.
Storyboarding will be essential to the success of this project as elements will need to be synced correctly allowing for a unique narrative and user experience.
Technology/skill sets required to complete this project will probably require 3D Studio Max, Adobe Flash CS3 along with a range of video and photographic resources which ray require filming/capturing.
Basing the theme on transformation I wish to explore the transformation that spaces go through over time. The project will link directly to the module of 4D as it will be exploring time and space. Not only will the project match up to the technical aspects required but the conceptual thinking and process will also count as a major part forming the basis of the project. I will explore the field of digital time-based audio/visual media linking it closely to modern technology. In doing so I will not only hope to gain some extensive knowledge in a field that I am relatively new too, but will also be able to expand and develop on my technical abilities related directly to the course.
At present only web references:
An Informal Catalogue of Slit-Scan Video Artworks and Research
http://www.flong.com/texts/lists/slit_scan/
Khronos Projector
http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/members/alvaro/Khronos/Khronos_Projector.html
Slit-Scan Photography
http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-slit-scan.html
http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-slit-scan.html
http://www.k2.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/members/alvaro/Khronos/Khronos_Projector.html
Directly linked to the 4d project that i am proposing. An amazing video.
Today we decided to get our thinking hats on. Myself (Alan), Tom and Simon clubbed together to start thinking about a concept and theme for the company name of the group. After many hours googling, using the thesaurus and generally having a good old think we still don’t have a final name, but we’ve made great progress and this process has enabled us to move on leaving old ideas/themes behind.
Initially we started “brain storming”, we decided to throw some keywords in to the equation. We began to think what our idea was about, who our audience were and tried to keep most of the keyword themes predominantly focused around our niche target audience and market place.
After our initial brain storming session this is a selection of the best keywords that describe our company:
This set a great foundation for us to expand on, we had nailed down our markets, technology and the niche aspects of our company. With these fresh in our mind we decided to focus our thoughts on a more business like theme.
To start off with we decided to think of some corporate names and came up with the following:
Some of these we were really impressed with and could see potential, but we decided to also look into more web 2.0 business names. Sticking with our theme of Retro gaming we focused more on this as the basis for the brand name, something to be recognised for, a house name for 21st century retro gaming.
To get the ball rolling we tried a combination of relevant phrases together:
With a few more hours dedication we should decided on a successful brand to umbrella all of our skill sets under. Look out here comes the 21st century modern retro gaming…. if that even makes sense :)
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