Archives for the Month of September 2005 on Britt Wiseman
Notre Dame, yet again.
Again I found an exchange between the press and Notre Dame football coach, Charlie Weis. He has talked about this issue a lot lately.
Q. You do a lot of research and talked before about using text messaging and things like that to contact players, talk about how much technology has changed coaching since the time you got into coaching?
COACH WEIS: I'll give you one example of that. When I first was in coaching, both in high school and all the way back to University of South Carolina, there was no videotape. It was all film. And film to make cut ups, you actually had to cut one play at a time off, and you'd get a piece of tape and hang them up on the wall. And to make a cut up, you then have a splicer and take this play and connect it to the next play; and sometimes you connect it upside down or backwards, and so you would be watching it, and all of the sudden there would be a play turned the wrong way.
Now, I can go up to my system right now and say, let me look at all of the third down and three plays that Purdue has run this year, and in five seconds I have it. They are all right there and they are all on the list. There's all of the plays, third and three. There they are for the whole year. Now before, you've already given that step of making the little cut ups and you would walk into the room and there would be 50 cans of tape, and now it's something that you can literally do in 30 seconds.
This illustrates the way in which technology has become part of our everyday lives. We shape our lives around the technology that is available to us. For example, if coach Weis knew that he would have to sift through mountains of film to find certain plays that the opposing teams use in certain situations he would allocate more time to it. The time that he saves due to technology provides him with more time to spend directly with his players or with his recruiting. In this sense, vide tape has become ubiquitous, for the most part we know how much time we must spend to complete tasks and we orgainze our lives accordingly.
This all seems so innocent and helpful, but McCullough touches on the "accursed computing" and how it affects our daily lives. The ability for coach Weis to go into his office and find the plays he wants with ease and in a relatively short time is one thing. However, what happens if the footage now has a mind of its own and shows coach Weis what it thinks he wants to or should know? McCullough uses the example of a computer software program capitalizing, correcting and rewriting senetnces for you. This is an example of how technology hinders fundamental progression.
The interesting thing to think about is how far we want our technology to prgoress without us holding the reigns tightly over it. I believe that we all want technology that will aide us in our daily routine, but at what point is one's aide anothers hindrance or vice versa? This is where individual wants and needs comes into account. The personalization of programs and features would be the 'best' way to utilize new technology. However, there are still questions that need to be addressed: What does the personalization entail? How much will this cost? Can we really hault/slow down the growth of technology? What is the "ultimate goal" of technology. If you ask 20 people what they think, for the most part you would get 20 different answers. This demonstrates that we all have a personal vision as to what technology should do and what role it plays in our daily lives.
Funding
A question arose concerning my entry about the government providing access for the undereducated and underpriveleged. I will try to address this question without diving into my political ideology. When it comes to the question of education and allowing all people equal access to a good or service, there is no budget line to draw.
We, as a nation, have spent approx. $186 billion on the war in Iraq and approx. $66 billion in Afghanistan. So, the assumption that we must "cut" federal, national and local programs to accumulate funds for my proposal of national technology education is unfounded. The money that could be spent on the children in minority neighborhoods across the United States is being spent on rebuilding a country thousands of miles away.
Regardless of the current political times, my point is that our government should, can and needs to make the education of the less fortunate a main priority. Educating them with today's newest technologies will only move us closer to a more equal and communitarian minded country.
Little Leonardo Views
As I began reading Leonardo's Laptop, I was a bit skeptical as to how the author could, in any way, link Leonardo Da Vinci to modern day technology. I want to discuss the content of the book, but first I feel as if the author, Ben Shneiderman, deserves my praise. As I said, I was skeptical about the book, but as I began reading he was very eloquent in his writing and likes to cut straight to the meat of the subject. So, if Ben Shneiderman is reading this entry, I want to say that the book has kept my interest and makes me think about the stages of technology in a way I have never before.
Now that I have discussed the writing, I would like to discuss the content of the text. As we all know, companies put many hours into the creation and production of their products. However, the descriptive techniques discussed in the book caught my attention. The charts and tables Shneiderman uses demonstrates the emphasis that companies and producers are placing on the "universal" use of their products. By "universal" in this sense I am referring to the people surrounding the users of the technology (i.e. students, family, friends, peers, society). The needs and wants of all of the aforementioned people are at the fore-front of the producer's agenda. With this continuous effort to reach out to all people, technology will continue to prosper.
The focus placed on human-computer interaction was very enlightening. We use our technology devices every day as if they were a true "part" or "extension" of our family. The devotion that we have to the care and maintenance of these devices is one that I had not pondered before.
I know that the author had to include the skeptic's view of making technology available to the less fortunate. The skeptic’s view was that "dumbing down" the systems would have a negative overall impact. I refute that statement very much as Shneiderman does. As an aspiring politician, I feel that it is our obligation to reach out those underprivileged in communities around the nation. We especially need to make sure that minority students are having the opportunity to gain access to and gain knowledge about the most basic technological devices (i.e. word processor, internet, etc.) If these students are not given the proper training to use the technology then we, as a society, have failed. So, to the skeptics I say that the uneducated, the minority, the poor and the disabled all have the right to be taught and to learn.
Notre Dame Football uses Text
So, I know that most people know that I am obsessed with Notre Dame sports, especially football. My family is from South Bend and its a family thing. If you want to know more, just ask me about it. While searching the Notre Dame athletic website, I saw the transcript of Charlie Weis' press conference from August 30, 2005. Near the end of the interview, the following conversation ocurred between the reporter and Head Coach Charlie Weis.
Q. Text messaging is something that's gotten big in recruiting. How much do you guys use it and can you measure the success?
COACH WEIS: We text every single day, and it is a very, very integral part of recruiting now because it counts as an electronic message rather than a phone call and I would say that we talk to several recruits every single day by text. You know, as a matter of fact, I've had I'm using text to try to set up Thursday because Thursday is the first day that I can start calling people.
So you have the combination of getting ready for Pittsburgh and realizing that September 1 phone calls can start, so I'm trying to set up my little schedule when I can actually pick up that telephone and call them via text.
Q. What types of things do you text?
COACH WEIS: Depends. Quotes sometimes. I give them a little state of the union during the summertime. I sat there at the All Star Game and flat out texted about everyone known to mankind while my kid was saying, "Daddy, aren't you going to watch the game?" Any time you have an opportunity to let the kids know you're thinking of them when they would not think you were thinking of them, you either text them before a game, and then you text them after a game to follow up on what happened.
I'm not going anything that everyone else isn't doing. I just think that it's become just part of what you have to do.
http://und.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/083005aab.html
I found it very interesting that coaches and universities are using this form of technology to contact possible recruits. Times have really changed since the personal visits to the student's homes, though I'm sure that still does happen. I just thought this would be of some interest to those of you who follow collegiate sports or those who bleed blue and gold like myself!
Setting Up the Category
Across from the "title" there is a "primary category."
Click "Add new category."
Name it ipodworld (all one word)
Enter your posting.
Make sure to Click "publish" under "post status"
This should work. It took me forever, so keep trying.
Ubiquitous Computing
Beginning the “In an iPod World” course, I felt as if I may be at a disadvantage with regard to my technological ability and knowledge. However, class discussion and course readings opened my eyes as to the extent that I use technology daily, whether advertent or inadvertent. Glancing around my dorm room, I notice various forms of technology such as my television, lamp, wristwatch, printer, laptop, alarm clock, fire alarm, sprinkler system, air conditioning unit and card swipe lock to name a few. My utilization of these technological resources occurs on a daily basis. Without one of these, my life would be set back in some capacity or another. Thus, my life is currently dependant upon intricate computing which consumed many resources including land, labor and capital.
Despite the efforts of technology experts and proponents, ubiquitous computing does and will face challenges. Kalle Lyytinen and Youngjin Yoo’s article entitled, Issues and Challenges in Ubiquitous Technologies, and The Computer for the 21st Century by Mark Weiser both highlight many of the social hurtles computing must overcome. Before I read the article, I asked myself whether or not society would accept the idea of ubiquitous technology with open arms or with much skepticism. Both articles discuss that an individual’s habits are very difficult to break which creates a barrier for technological overhaul. This is true, as I look at my life. I feel as if people are very comfortable with their daily routine and any change in that routine will certainly cause some doubt and cynicism as to whether a new way is more productive than the norm.
Another component of the question I posed earlier may be that ubiquitous technology may become part of one’s everyday life regardless of one’s willingness to succumb to it. For example, as we walk into a bank, school or grocery store, we would not expect the establishment to be lit by candlelight, but rather we expect to see light bulbs as the sole lighting source. This is just one example of how technological advancements are imposed upon societal thinking whether or not an individual makes a concerted effort to utilize the technology. The articles for this week seem to skim over this idea, maybe due to the fact that it is a somewhat obvious notion. However, it is one that I feel deserves some mention when discussing the societal challenges that ubiquitous computers face.
The Guruduth Banavar and Abraham Bernstein article entitled, Software Infrastructure and Design Challenges, caught my attention. The piece opens with a scenario concerning Jane, a CIO, and her daily activity with ubiquitous computing. The idea of the piece made me think about the time and cost effectiveness of ubiquitous computing. She encountered many obstacles and tasks that she needed to respond to immediately and through her implementation of technology she was able to react in an effective manner. Task dynamism, device heterogeneity and social computing each enabled her to save time and money by eliminating unnecessary trips, meetings, mail and phone conversations.
After reading the articles and through personal observation, it is now evident to me that ubiquitous technology is no longer an element of the future, but rather an element of the ‘here and now.’ According to the Lyytinen and Yoo article, ubiquitous computing is a phenomenon that will “enable, mediate, support and organize our daily activities.” As I discussed earlier, all of the technology in my dorm room performs each of those functions (1. enabling 2. mediating 3. supporting 4. organizing). Taking the assumption that ubiquitous technology will continue to grow and prosper in the future is an assumption that neglects the negative aspects that this type of computing may have on our world. For example, what effect will ubiquitous computing have on national security and personal privacy? These questions and those alike need to be addressed as we delve into this age of technological advancements. Perhaps articles on such issues will be assigned as I continue my quest into the “iPod World.”