Week 4 - Topic 4 - Old Communication Techniques

Lecture –

This week, the lecturer started out discussing Alphaville with us. He then went on to talk about Walter Benjamin and his history. He discussed how Benjamin was a peace activist during the first world war and how he was rejected from Frankfurt school. The lecture then continued to discuss communication techniques through the years, saying how tribal communication included the painting of the body and the use of feathers to express complex ideas. The lecture then touched on the first forms of the alphabet, how in some places it was printed on clay tablets. A fact that I found interesting was the Morse code was introduced to Australia at a location on the coastline at Southport. Towards the end of the lecture, Stockwell discussed the Frankfurt school which I found particularly interesting as it talked about how real life is becoming impossible to distinguish from what happens in the movies. However, this theory does not apply to acting in the theatre as there is still a sense of grounding for the audience members, but in the movies the audience members are engaged by constant interaction with what is happening on screen. That was my interpretation of what the Frankfurt School piece was implying.

Tutorial –

1. Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
Simon Vallor.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2002/dec/21/viruses.security

2. Who invented the paper clip?
William D Middlebrook invented the paper clip. He also, apparently, invented a machine to produce the paper clip in 1899.

Source: http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/paperclip.htm

3. How did the Ebola virus get its name?
It is named after the Ebola River in Zaire, Africa, near where the first outbreak was noted by Dr. Ngoy Mushola in 1976 after a significant outbreak in Yambuku, Zaire.

Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/ebola.html

4. What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
Largest recorded earthquake was in Chile on May 22 1960

Source: www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/earthquakes_what.htm

5. In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1024*3 K

Source:http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/tanya/hwtute/How_to_measure_data/measure.htm

6. Who is the creator of email?
Ray Tomlinson.

Source: http://www.umsl.edu/~sauterv/help/Links_email.html

7. What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?

The storm worm is a virus that causes a computer to send out millions of junk emails or will become a destination for the link. According to some, it has apparently affected over 10 million computers. However, others seem to find the figure more within the hundred thousands.

Source: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/10/the_storm_worm_maelstrom_or_te.html?nav=rss_blog

8. If you wanted to contact the prime minister of australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
This form provides a way to make comments to the Prime Minister. If you wish to send invitations, message or meeting requests or correspondence requiring supporting attachments such as photos or documents, please send them via Australia Post mail to:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MPPrime MinisterParliament HouseCANBERRA ACT 2600
Source: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm

9. Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
Black Assassins. He was vocalist and keyboard player.
Source: http://live-wirez.gu.edu.au/Staff/Stephen/default.html

10. What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
2.0 is a concept in which businesses embrace the internet.
Source: http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/08/not-20.html


Readings –

The reading for week two was by Walter Benjamin and discussed the reproduction of art through the years. It told of the techniques used back when photography and mass production were not yet invented. Only pottery and such could be reproduced as art in the form of paintings was too unique to be replicated. The reading discusses how a replica of art will always be lacking in presence. You can purchase a perfect copy but it will never be the original, it will never have history. I agree that there is nothing as special as knowing that what you have had been carefully created by a committed artist, rather than mechanically copied to be owned by many. The reading then goes on to compare a completely new form of art reproduction that I wouldn’t have thought of myself; it talks about film actors in comparison to stage actors. It’s true that film is a reproduction of the event. It suggests that a stage actor has the ability to alter the mood of an audience at will, when a film actor does not as he is not presenting to the audience directly. These examples show that mechanical art reproduction has taken many new forms over the years.