The latest release from Sony Computer Entertainment – the PS3 is currently the most advanced videogame console in the world, with the more expensive model containing an intergrated hard-drive memory of 60 GB, allowing it to assimilate a huge amount of digital information including games, movies, photo, music file and more. The console was release in Europe last month and has so far sold approximately 3.2 million units worldwide. Although the console currently offers a limited listing of PS3 titles due to it’s relative ‘technological youth’ as a technology, it does backwards compatibility allowing gamers to play PSX and PS2 games on it). Another attractive feature of the device is that it is one of the first mass produced appliance to read the new blu-ray disc format, allowing it to play movies of a higher quality with a larger resolution and better sound.
Sony has added the ability for firmware updates to be installed via the devices online systems, allowing the PS3 to automatically update itself directly from the Sony network. The PS3 also is more user-friendly when compared to its predecessor. This can be seen upon its activation as an animated interface bar is triggered listing the console’s possible functions.
Monday, 23 April 2007
Task Thirteen - Playlisting
The development of the MP3 file has allowed people around the world to store a gratuitous amount of music on their PCs / MP3 players. These files are organised under playlists, created by the listeners in order to make music more accessible for themselves, fully personalising their playlists based on genre, artist, time of release etc.
Most songs are now available for downloading from sites such as iTunes, however a large amount of music listeners – especially older listeners tend to convert music from CD to MP3 format, causing the discs to become obsolete in comparison with the modern digital format which requires no physical storage space.
Playlisting MP3 files also allows music listeners to share music with friends and family online through messaging programs and emailing – a good example of this is MSN Live messengers new sharing folders allowing users to place a large number of files into an online ‘bin’ which does not require a two-way live connection. Instead the files are left stored online until the receiver wishes to save and/or delete them.
Most songs are now available for downloading from sites such as iTunes, however a large amount of music listeners – especially older listeners tend to convert music from CD to MP3 format, causing the discs to become obsolete in comparison with the modern digital format which requires no physical storage space.
Playlisting MP3 files also allows music listeners to share music with friends and family online through messaging programs and emailing – a good example of this is MSN Live messengers new sharing folders allowing users to place a large number of files into an online ‘bin’ which does not require a two-way live connection. Instead the files are left stored online until the receiver wishes to save and/or delete them.
Task Twelve - iPhone
3G phones now incorporate a variety of technologies, which would have once been considered to be incompatible with typical mobile phone functions. The implementation of ‘Bluetooth’ allows phone owners to access the Internet in the same way they would with Broadband. This means that phone users can read e-mails, download images and videos, and searching for information without the use of a desktop computer. This technology also allows for the sharing of files between different phones in close contact. For years now, mobiles have had the ability to take photographs, much like a digital camera, now many phones have video recording capabilities (some phones are specifically designed as a camcorder/phone hybrid – a good example of convergence). Though currently the quality of these videos is questionable, it is likely that the quality will rival that of conventional camcorder in the not-to-distant future. Another noticeable ‘all-in-one’ aspect of phones is the integration of mp3 technology. This means that phones can behave in a similar way to ipods and other music players. Some might also consider the mobile phone to be a ‘semi gaming platform’ as although most phones are not physically designed for gaming, some like the nokia n-gage have large storage space and are shaped in order to emulated a handheld console, such as the Sony psp or Nintendo ds. Texting may also be regarded as a form of instant message, however not as developed as instant desktop messaging such as MSN, AIM etc
The iPhone is perhaps the best example of a modern convergent technology as it has no single main function – instead it functions equally well as an iPod and a mobile phone, and also as a personal organiser, email device and an electronic mapping device. The appliance itself is visually eye-catching and is controlled using touch screen technology.
Task Six - Curse of the Golden Flower
The ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’ site is accessible from sonyclassics.com which features several screen shots, the trailer and a ‘buy the DVD’ option. The actual site itself is constructed in more detail with basic animations adding to the feel of the website by working as transitions when selecting different page on the menu. Upon opening the film’s synopsis is displayed – describing the basic idea of the story without giving away too much information, which would spoil the plot for potential viewers. 
The following item on the menu, the cast list, presents the actors in order of role and fame. The film’s protagonist are played by 2 of china’s major celebrities – Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li a fact which is largely publicised on the site in an attempt to attract more western viewers whom are perhaps likely to be familiar with them. A page dedicated to Yimou Zhang crediting his previous works such as ‘Hero’ and ‘House of Flying Daggers’ which are easily recognizable by a world wide audience.
The following item on the menu, the cast list, presents the actors in order of role and fame. The film’s protagonist are played by 2 of china’s major celebrities – Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li a fact which is largely publicised on the site in an attempt to attract more western viewers whom are perhaps likely to be familiar with them. A page dedicated to Yimou Zhang crediting his previous works such as ‘Hero’ and ‘House of Flying Daggers’ which are easily recognizable by a world wide audience.
Related media is also available from the site on the gallery and trailer pages and a ‘making of the featurettes’ documentary is also available to view online – showing costumes, make-ups, SFX and cinematography. The last tab on the menu brings up external links to the Chinese site, MySpace and Press release website (convergence of different media texts) as well as websites related to the main cast. Whilst viewing the site, surfers have to ability to toggle the audio in order to listen to one of the film’s sound track.
Sunday, 22 April 2007
Task Seven - EDGE magazine website
EDGE is on of the UK’s most popular gaming magazines, offering information on up-and-coming games on every gaming platform. The magazine is also highly respected with its ratings, and is considered to be the ‘who’s who’ guide for the British gaming world.
The site itself displays important information about the latest issue on the home page, informing surfers of the main articles, game reviews featured and front cover, as well as screen shots from games featured in the issue. The job vacancy bar is unusual for a magazine site and is located to the right of the lasted news feed displaying job offers from game related companies. Above this is the main navigation bar, featuring console, PC and portable in which game reviews are listed. There is also an ‘out there’ tab featuring special interest stories. Surfer’s can also subscribe to the magazine via the website or apply for jobs with the actual magazine (not gaming developers – as previously mentioned). There is also a noticeably large discussion forum, which can be edited by subscribers (interactivity and consumer contribution) allowing surfers to discuss particular games i.e. sharing information about difficulties with game play or opinions on specific game attributes. It should also be noted that the website has posted a FAQ list of every question published in past issues of the magazine.
The site itself displays important information about the latest issue on the home page, informing surfers of the main articles, game reviews featured and front cover, as well as screen shots from games featured in the issue. The job vacancy bar is unusual for a magazine site and is located to the right of the lasted news feed displaying job offers from game related companies. Above this is the main navigation bar, featuring console, PC and portable in which game reviews are listed. There is also an ‘out there’ tab featuring special interest stories. Surfer’s can also subscribe to the magazine via the website or apply for jobs with the actual magazine (not gaming developers – as previously mentioned). There is also a noticeably large discussion forum, which can be edited by subscribers (interactivity and consumer contribution) allowing surfers to discuss particular games i.e. sharing information about difficulties with game play or opinions on specific game attributes. It should also be noted that the website has posted a FAQ list of every question published in past issues of the magazine.
Task Eight - MySpace (Koreankid0h)
MySpace functions as an online networking site, permitting people to create their own profile pages displaying information about them. This allows users to communicate with their friends either privately; by sending messages, or publicly; by commenting on the person’s main profile page – however this option is only available to person’s whom the receiver has already established an online ‘friendship’ with, preventing unwanted strangers from commenting users. Users can also posts videos from sites such as youtube (convergence), photos and one song (four if subscribed as a music space) – allowing the sharing of media between friends. It is also possible to display a ‘top friends’ list, which can range from 4 to 24 friends.
It should also be noted that MySpace is officially only open to person’s above the age of 13, and that those under the age of 16 have a profile setting of private, meaning that only those who have requested friendship may view the person’s profile.
MySpace’s are fully customisable using layouts found on other sites of by using one of the many ‘space-generator sites’. Gene’s site has a pretty traditional MySpace layout. The top right hand corner display’s a photo of the user, above which is the user name. Next to this basic information about the user is listed including gender, age, location and the time that the user was last active. The user interaction bar is placed below this, giving visitors the ability to add Gene as a friend, to instant message, or block him etc.
Monday, 16 April 2007
Task Ten - Podcasts
Podcasting; a term coined by Apple Mac, has become a popular method of communicating audio and occasionally video files via the Internet to iPods. Surfers subscribe to podcasts through e-programs like iTunes, allowing them to receive updates and new instalments on a regular basis. Using sites such as podcast.com allows surfers to receive files at a negligible cost.
Podcasts are used for various means, mainly to entertain i.e. radio talk shows or audio versions of televsion series, some however, for example http://www.japanesepod101.com/ are used as educational tools.
Podcasts are used for various means, mainly to entertain i.e. radio talk shows or audio versions of televsion series, some however, for example http://www.japanesepod101.com/ are used as educational tools.
Entering the site for the first time bring up the subsricption page (shown) this states important information about the site and it's podcast, inluding a step-by-step guide to subscribing and downloading. The overall layout reflects the site's Japanese theme - colour scheme mirrors that of the Japanese flag. The top bar allows subscribers to log in; redirecting them to the podcast index list from which they can choose to download. This index list can be search through using a criteria-based search engine (e.g. most recent, beginner level). Alternatively members can download a series based on ability, topic and time, or select the 'premium feed' option which will configure iTunes to download learning material as it is made availible. Archive podcasts are also accessible on a right hand bar, displaying podcasts since december 2005. The site also suppliers users with lesson notes and a 'Kanji-close up' (helping subscribers to learn the written language). A learning centre, containing testing and written is also availible to access with subscription.
Although Japanesepod101 charges subscribers to download podcasts, it has a free 7-day trial period and offers to give back unsatisfied subscribers the monetary value of their remaing subscription.
Sunday, 15 April 2007
Task Nine - Youtube (Cube News)
Youtube offers a huge resource for online videos and possibly the best example for widespread personalisation and consumer contribution. The site can be navigated via 4 tabs – videos, categories, channels and community. Selecting the first bring up a list of the day’s most viewed videos and displays other such lists including ‘highest rated’ which is then again separated according to time i.e. ‘highest rated – this week’. The categories panel features a ‘pick of the day’ video and a list of 12 different genres of which all videos are placed under. Channels categorises videos according to the people that published them; listing publisher as musicians (for music videos), comedians (humorous sketches etc), directors (for movies and TV shows) etc. The final tab – community also focuses around the creators; however does so by means of groups formed by friends and co-workers online. These processes of non-linear consumption are also backed by a proficient search engine, allowing surfers to search for video by inputting keywords.
Cube news, posted on a regular basis by Kim – an arguably crazed and sardonic office worker, presents a ‘how-to’ on office survival for other office employees worldwide. Each 'episode' tackles a different office-related problem, related to emails recieved by viewers. Unlike many VLogs Cube news appears to be filmed by a digital camera as opposed to a webcam, there is also a noticable amount of editing in the episode shown and in other installments - suggesting a strong use of digital recording technology in the making of the series.
Task Eleven - Doraemon Fansite
(i drew this, in my spare time - how c¬.¬l am i?!)
Well...as some of you may know, DORAEMON’s ma man! I would give a kidney for that cat – no hesitation, but he wouldn’t need one, because, get this, he’s a ROBOT! What genius could have created such a complex character you ask? Well, if you go onto this site --- http://doraemon.wingsee.com/index.html --- you can see that Hiroshi Fujimoto was the visionary behind East Asia’s take on Mickey Mouse.
Although not profession in appearance this fan site represents everything Doraemon does – fun, fun, fun!!! The most unusual thing that sets this site apart from other sites is the theme tune, which plays whilst navigating throughout the site. Scrolling down the page allows you to read an introductory paragraph written by the creator about the Doraemon franchise, and eventually to 6 links which display-
Information on the main characters
Pictures and desktop wallpapers
Links to other fan sites
The option to sign the guest-book
The option to read the guest-book
The option to read about the sites creator and his other interests
When signing the guest-book you are required to put down you email address so that other fans can read your comment and perhaps contact you allowing a mini-Doraemon community to form. Merchandise can also be bought from one of the site on the links page and a new DORAMAIL program has been set up for hard-core fanatics, which allows fans to email each other using a Doraemon themed free web-based messaging service.
Task Five - Fearne & Reggie
On weekends between 7.00 and 10.00, famous TV presenter Fearne Cotton hosts BBC Radio 1 along with some guy called Reggie something… It is a reasonably popular show, attracting an audience of teenagers and young adults. The show features topical discussions on current trends, with the presenters sharing their own views and experiences through personal anecdotes from which they spark further discussion by asking listeners to phone/text/email the show with their stories.
Do to the large variety of BBC radio shows, and the comparatively small airtime broadcast by the show – early mornings on weekends, the ‘Fearne & Reggie’ website is befittingly simple and unfilled. However, the website does offer the chance for listener’s to access previous shows. A special 'new music generator' has been added - through which listener's can input their favourite music, and the website will notify them on upcoming tracks which may intrest them.
Task Three - Pokémon
Often mistakenly thought of as a consequential product of the television anime – Pokémon or ポケットモンスタ was first released by nintendo in 1995, 2 years before the immensly popular television version. Despite this time difference the televsion show storyline remained reasonably loyal to that of the videogame. The original versions – Pokémon Red & Blue collectively sold 21 million copies worldwide and we the second best-selling games for nintendo gameboy. Like many role-playing turn based games – pokémon was often criticised for being repetative, dispite being one of the only games played on gameboy with multiplayer capabilities.
(original graphics)
The main character of the story was male in appearance – clearly reflecting the game’s intentional audience, this, however was later changed in following versions in which, player’s could choose to play as a boy or girl. One aspect, which differentiates the game from the anime, is that the story follows the journey of a single character (name chosen by the player) – the equivalent of ‘Ash’, rather than Ash, Misty, Brock and of course, Pikachu. The main objective of the game is for the protagonist to ‘catch ‘um all’ (‘um being the 150 species of pokémon), however, in order for the character to navigate around the fictional world of Kanto, the player must defeat a ‘gym leader’ as to allow him entry to the next town, wherein he would face another gym leader. After defeating each ‘leader’ the majority of the game-map is accessible and all of the ordinary pokémon are avaible for the player to ‘catch’. In order for the final ‘special’ pokémon to be caught the protagonist must defeat 5 powerful antagonists – peculiarly named ‘The Elite Four’.
Rather than battling the main concept of pokémon stems from the hobby of collecting and raising animals as pets. The creators thought the gameboy was ideal for this because of the link cable that allows trading of pokémon between players – one of the first strong examples of interactivity in the gaming world, and, the gameboy’s portability, which unsurprisingly was the basis for the name ‘Pokémon’ (a japanese abbreviation for ‘Pocket Monsters’). This trading and collecting function also offered a certain level of personalisation as player’s could only carry up to 6 pokémon at a time – each player would have had an entirely different team of pokémon, depending on their gaming strategies and tastes.
The main character of the story was male in appearance – clearly reflecting the game’s intentional audience, this, however was later changed in following versions in which, player’s could choose to play as a boy or girl. One aspect, which differentiates the game from the anime, is that the story follows the journey of a single character (name chosen by the player) – the equivalent of ‘Ash’, rather than Ash, Misty, Brock and of course, Pikachu. The main objective of the game is for the protagonist to ‘catch ‘um all’ (‘um being the 150 species of pokémon), however, in order for the character to navigate around the fictional world of Kanto, the player must defeat a ‘gym leader’ as to allow him entry to the next town, wherein he would face another gym leader. After defeating each ‘leader’ the majority of the game-map is accessible and all of the ordinary pokémon are avaible for the player to ‘catch’. In order for the final ‘special’ pokémon to be caught the protagonist must defeat 5 powerful antagonists – peculiarly named ‘The Elite Four’.
Rather than battling the main concept of pokémon stems from the hobby of collecting and raising animals as pets. The creators thought the gameboy was ideal for this because of the link cable that allows trading of pokémon between players – one of the first strong examples of interactivity in the gaming world, and, the gameboy’s portability, which unsurprisingly was the basis for the name ‘Pokémon’ (a japanese abbreviation for ‘Pocket Monsters’). This trading and collecting function also offered a certain level of personalisation as player’s could only carry up to 6 pokémon at a time – each player would have had an entirely different team of pokémon, depending on their gaming strategies and tastes.
Task Two - Konami.com
An overall orderly layout, allows for simple navigation throughout the main page and easy accessibility for users. Metallic blue/grey windows on a white background formulate a boyish, sharp appearance – an apt choice, as the majority of games manufactured by the company are geared towards a young male audience.
A large window advertising new games is shown at the centre of the main page – showing short, simple animations of the game and artwork. Surfers may also be redirected to the actual sites of these games; should they choose to click on animation or any of the smaller boxes below, displaying information about that specific game in detail. This animation changes about 4 times each minute, and is controlled automatically (or manually) by a scroll bar (below), which shuffles through a list of new games letting surfers view a variety of upcoming games and new releases (an example of non-linear navigation). The alternative methods of navigation offered by the site are that of a traditional search tool and a slightly less conventional index panel, through which surfers can ‘find products by’ game platform, genre, ESRB rating and even price; making it easy to search for a game under certain criteria. The site also offers a sign-up option for those whom wish to subscribe to the konami newsletter. Signing-up is also required for certain downloads i.e. game demos, video previews etc.
In conclusion, although the site itself features relatively little information and interactivity, it does function as a hub for a large variety of other sites.
A large window advertising new games is shown at the centre of the main page – showing short, simple animations of the game and artwork. Surfers may also be redirected to the actual sites of these games; should they choose to click on animation or any of the smaller boxes below, displaying information about that specific game in detail. This animation changes about 4 times each minute, and is controlled automatically (or manually) by a scroll bar (below), which shuffles through a list of new games letting surfers view a variety of upcoming games and new releases (an example of non-linear navigation). The alternative methods of navigation offered by the site are that of a traditional search tool and a slightly less conventional index panel, through which surfers can ‘find products by’ game platform, genre, ESRB rating and even price; making it easy to search for a game under certain criteria. The site also offers a sign-up option for those whom wish to subscribe to the konami newsletter. Signing-up is also required for certain downloads i.e. game demos, video previews etc.
In conclusion, although the site itself features relatively little information and interactivity, it does function as a hub for a large variety of other sites.
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