File Mobile

"Sharing is easy!"

As the internet continues to advance we now have the option of organizing and uploading personal multimedia.
File mobile is a media-sharing tool that allows users to download, categorize, and store personal images, video, audio, etc. along with other great features The site has been developed to offer various options that support uploading and sharing files. The site also encourages the use of blogging and makes it so easy to send images straight to your blog even from a mobile phone. There is finally a place that makes it easy to manage multi-media with the capability of sharing and viewing multi-media from others all over the map.

The most powerful feature that File Mobile offers is the ability to select media that the user uploads as private or public. Therefore, private media is only seen by the user and can't be viewed by everyone who signs into the site, and public allows the user to let the public view and share the media.

Using a multimedia storage site is, yet, another way of storing information online rather than on your own computer or storage device. Trying to manage CD's, DVD's, jump drives, external drives, etc. which all hold pieces of information because the storage space is so limited, is a very difficult task. File Mobile has made managing these files and has taken great consideration in the organization of different types of media using the 'media studio' feature.


related links:
http://www.filemobile.com/
http://www.flyspray.org/?p=Main_Page
http://www.shozu.com/portal/index.do
http://wiki.com/
http://youtube.com/

Flash Light & other technologies

I feel like technology is moving faster than we can keep up. I am trying hard to grasp the dynamics of actionscript 2.0 and flash itself, while flash light is already being used to develop cell phone interfaces and applications. Flash Light is a simplified version of flash that handicaps the use of components and significantly scales down the flash player in order to run on small devices, such as, cell phones. Flash is surely an amazing program with design features that allow for the most creative and interesting outcomes. Therefore, the availability of such a program for use on cell phones, is fascinating and exciting. Although, James (class speaker) does not have a significant desire to use flash for altering the interface of his cell phone, I find it to be useful and stimulating. Cell phones are very expensive and consumers find great need in upgrading and refreshing the look of their phone which often come with contract gimmicks and such. If cell phone users had the option of spending a few bucks on a new interface rather than a new cell phone and a new binding contract, I believe that people would opt to upgrade their cell phones less. My opinion on this is bias, however, because I have been leared into the narrowness of a binding contract and would have favored the option of refreshing the look of my phone instead of upgrading in some cases.

It really was an amazing feeling listening to James present some of the latest “small device” technologies and there advanced features. However, I have a really hard time understanding why anyone would need such a variety of gadgets. I am all for technology and its new discoveries and advancements, but, I view some technologies as a mere distraction from life and the things and people around us. Sometimes we need to walk away from the cell phone, blackberry, ipod, handheld, mp3 player with the panoramic screen, pda, , and all the other little devices that we can fit in our pocket and remember why they don’t matter as much as what’s outside of them .

http://www.thisisdanielcook.com/http://www.burnttoastopera.com/
http://deafplanet.com/splash.php
http://www.shortsinmotion.com/
http://www.flashkit.com/

Like I said; Limitless

It seems the internet continues to offer new and innovative methods of international connections. These connections allow people worldwide to communicate and share information using very interactive website developments. One interesting method of sharing information is through sites like del.icio.us which offer ways of sharing personal bookmarks with others, therefore, allowing people with similar interests to connect. Bookmark sharing also saves time and hassle by having the capability to share information that has already been found by other people on subjects that interest you.

Another way of saving time is by using something called RSS Feeds. RSS Feeds give individuals a way of listing sites that they spend time visiting regularly and having links sent to them only when something new from those specific sites get posted. This prevents people from spending time searching for new information on sites they visit on a regular basis; instead the information is sent right to their finger tips.

Twitter is another interesting site that allows people around the world to post simply 'what they are doing right now’. Twitter results in a list of posts just talking about what each individual is doing giving us, yet another, way of communicating.

Although I have not found the 3D virtual world, growing more and more popular, as an interest to me, I still find interest in what the web currently offers. Second Life has reached an even higher level of virtual communication allowing users to have a very personal and/or very professional virtual experience. Second Life is a way of being a master of any craft really, by offering virtual products and selling them through the virtual character you have developed and the office or store you have the ability to build with tools provided by the program. It is an interesting concept; however I think that some users become too deeply attached to the character they create which can affect their current social life. I have very mixed emotions about the virtual world. I feel that people spend too much time in front of a computer monitor as it is and something like Second Life has created a powerful way of pulling in a large population of people by giving them a "new" or improved image, a social life, a way to have work meeting, and a way to make money among other things. To some extent it really bothers me because it gives people a reason to stay in and takes time away from something they may 'virtually' neglect called, real life. Although, I applaud the advancements of technology and the discoveries people continue to so intelligently create, I will likely not be apart of virtual worlds.


5 links:

tapoll.com
vox.com
flickr.com
twitter.com
del.icio.us

Institute of Visualization Design

Sheridan College seams to offer a wide variety of different technologies and continues to surprise me with various examples of these technologies throughout the school facility. Today I experienced a small adventure of the visualization design institute which took me through several flash, html, and video developments. These developments ranged from online tests, educational and training games, as well as, a video that allowed the audience to participate. The interaction with a movie being played was very interesting, however, with a bit of improvement, it could have a greater impact. The movie gave a series of multiple-choice options which altered the scenes slightly but resulted in the same conclusion. However, my opinion of a movie is not to be interactive. I feel that a short ten or 15 minute movie clip or game would be more suitable for this kind of technology and probably more stimulating. All in all, the experience was entertaining and I look forward to being a part of these growing technologies.

GestureTek

GestureTek is a company located in Toronto that develops new and interesting ways of interacting with computers. From mall kiosks to games that allow your image into a 3Dimensional game. Touring GestureTek’s facility was very attention-grabbing as it is far from ordinary. The main showroom features a section of the floor that is used as an interactive experience where the user can play games with each other like air hockey or step onto the floor that while it mimicked a pond and the water would flow and ripple around the area you stepped on. The company featured large monitor images through glass with the use of projectors and modern kiosks that the user could use to select items with there fingers that would act as a mouse click. GestureTek has a lot to offer with interactivity and is an exceptional example of where technology is heading.

Some related sites to check out:
http://gesturetek.com/gestxtreme/introduction.php
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060818/cifaldi_06.shtml
http://www.gesturetek.com/groundfx/introduction.php
http://www.industrial-embedded.com/articles/vincent/

InterAccess

InterAccess is an attention getter to say the least. Creativity is utilized to such extremities that it makes me realize how interesting the collaboration of different technologies and artwork can be. Interaccess is all about using technology to create artwork. The company even offers workshops for those who feel intrigued enough to attend. You can learn something from nearly everything they create from learning how to be a VJ to controlling lights and sound according to your own movements.A project inspired by Interaccess that I found very fascinating was that of a greenhouse per say. It was created by an artist who was trying to master the growth of orchids far from their natural growing environment. What the artist created was a small green house for the plant that had a controlled environment based on the daily weather of India, where orchids grow very well. If it rained in India, it rained in the greenhouse where the orchid grew. The project was a successful one and is only one of the many interesting projects going on in the InterAccess world of art.

I am just staring out at Sheridan Institute in Oakville Ontario in the Interactive Multimedia program. The program is very interesting and I want to encourage anyone who is thinking about developing a career in programming, web design, or interactive design to take advantage of this program option. Although my architectural and graphics background got me just about nowhere and learning computer code is the most exhausting task I have ever experienced, I still have very positive things to say about the instructors and the course itself. Interactive Multimedia is a doorway to limitless technology and creative options that are still being developed or have not even been developed yet.