The blog is mightier than the sword: October 2006

Welcom on the robbers' paradise

Internet allows you to pay on-line and it is good things because you can buy what you want all over the world without moving from your couch… On the other side, it’s very dangerous because you have to give your credit card numbers and you are never sure that the seller is honest… To me it is one of the most frequent cyber crimes. But the freakiest is the identity robs: I’m sure that people could rob your name, your diplomas, your bank account…in brief your life just in hacking some website or databases… at a lower level I‘ve already spoken by MSN messenger to one of my friend and after a few minutes I realised that it was not my friend but a boy from Paris (dangerous city, no? ) who has stolen her hotmail address… This kind of story afraid me so I’m not sure to be a possible victim because I’m very careful while surfing… For example, I never give my real name or my real phone number and I try to check the security before buying on-line.

YouTube is watching you...

Wikipedia describes YouTube as a “popular free video sharing web site which lets users upload, view, and share video clips”. This site was founded in February 2005by three employees of “PayPal” the virtual bank. This website is based on amateur content but it can also include movies or TV broadcast… To my mind, YouTube developed because of the free access and all the transgression it allows. Indeed, users are mainly the 12- to 17-year-old but it doesn’t prevent the website to have 20 million visitors each month… Personally I discovered YouTube recently and use it to illustrate my blogs as I did last week with “Lost In translation”. To most important thing occurred to YouTube recently is the purchase by Google which shows the interest of such a website. I don't know if YouTube has a future... Before the 9th October, I would certainly say that it was just a fashion. But Google's arrived. And by the price it pays for this website, it obliged me to change my mind... Maybe YouTube will become as the American website IReport which belongs to CNN and allows people to post their own videos to testify when an event occurs. Another theory: YouTube will become the best way for actors or artists in general to be recognized… Let’s wait and see!

lost in translation

Another style of being Bob...

Can you repeat please, I do'nt understand

I have found a website which offers free English lesson on line the funny thing is that it seems to be a German site… On this website, there is a lot of way to learning English for example, by testing your knowledge or with a chat room to practice. I think it is an interesting way to teach real English and not just the famous “my tailor is rich”… Moreover, they offer some quizzes to improve our British culture. To me, this kind of approach is at the same time effective and diverting. The problem with this kind of method is that you learn an academic language which is different from the current one.To me, the best way is practice and Internet is the best place for it. Indeed, a lot of sites are in English and you can find Podcast or movies in VO, chatting with natives’ English speaker and learn a lot. I’m used to watch movies and soap in VO and often twice: the first time with subtitles and the second time without. According to me, French people have a big problem with foreign languages because they are accustomed to the translation. A lot of idiomatic sentences are lost in translation…

Six rules to be a good Net surfer: Use your brain (if you have)

Have you already think about what Internet offer you? It’s time to start if you don’t… Indeed, the Web, when you can use it in the better conditions (follow my six rules and you will be the best) Internet becomes a marvelous tool: it allows you to be smarter, cleverer and more accurate about subject you study on-line. If you understand Internet philosophy, if you follow the rule and be attentive to what happen on-line, you will be a good Net surfer. In fact, you have to use your insight and your comprehension amongst other things…

Six rules to be a good Net surfer: be a good person (if you can)

The law you will respect, your tasks you will achieve. Internet needs discipline…. In fact it doesn’t need so much but you have to be disciplined! For example, you have to check your mails frequently if you don’t, your mail box will explode or be closed… Same rules in forum or chat: if you don’t respect the others, if you are impolite, you will be excluded or punished.

Internet is a community, even if it is an utopia, you have to enter in the mould… If you don’t you will be considered as a pirate, a hackers… Is it ok? Will you become a disciplined surfer? Well done! You pass the third step... Congratulations.

Six rules to be a good Net surfer: just be cool (and do'nt insult the computer)

On Internet hours and hours you will wait: you will never lose your goal while you will be looking for untraceable information or waiting for a connection. Remember

when we surfed in low flow…and appreciate your waiting since “How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees” W. Shakespeare. The fourth level is passed! Moreover, it offers you the fifth one: indeed, patience allows you to reach the perseverance step. If you want, we are going to play to test your patience and perseverance. Go to Google and try searching the reference or quote about a book, what about, trying with a Salman Rushdie’s book named “imaginary homelands”… How much time did you spend? Are you giving up? You’re not allowed to give up if you want to become the best Net surfer! Be patient and perseverant… and if you find the book read it, it really interesting.

Six rules to be a good Net surfer: be sympathetic and help your next (if you can)

Everyone you will help: if you are good concerning a subject you will offer your knowledge to everyone for free (because you are not interested in money ;+)). For instance you could write an article on Wikipedia to highlight your point of view. Or, you can help the poor lost Net surfer by answering his beginner’s questions on a Forum. If you are not able to run your PC game The Sims2, you can ask to others players here! Good! You passed the last level: you become generous

Peace and love Web

Internet was created in a special atmosphere: the “hippies” are in the beginning of the Internet philosophy. Without making of stereotype, it seems to be normal that we find values like generosity, comprehension or insight. But Internet has changed, like society, and even if “the flower power” is fashion, now it is more “the money power” era. So Internet becomes the World Wide Store and new values appear like discipline and perseverance which are not negative ones!

So that, today we can find examples of all these qualities on the Web…

Respect the consumers!

I’m not a “pirate”, I’m a dinosaur who buy disk!! Of course I use peer-to-peer but especially to find untraceable movie, radio broadcastings… etc. I would like to tell you a story to explain my point of view as far as DRM is concerned. First, I have to explain: DRM or Digital Right Manager is a program, used by Majors in order to forbid the copy of music and movies downloaded on the Web. But DRM is putted on the disk you are supposed to buy instead of obtaining it free thanks to P2P…

Once upon a time, a young woman listened to an old song of Aretha Franklin. She discovered Jazz music: it was amazing, better than all she has listened for all her life! (I exaggerate but story are always too much) She decided that her life would not have any more significance without a disk of Jazz music. She went to store, bought it and ran at home to listen to the disk named “Lady Jazz”…

A terrible thing occurred: the disk did not work!! She tried on her computer, in her car… it was impossible and she was desperate! Then, a charming prince arrived (in fact it was a friend of her) he explained that her disk was protected by a program named “Copy Controlled” and could not be support by all music players. The prince was also a geek. He saved the desperate young woman while pirating the disk on the Web. They did not marry and have not children…

The moral of the story is that DRM is not the solution: pirates can break the protection and legitimate purchasers are not sure to be able to use their disk. Often, they spend money, are disgusted by the Major’s philosophy and become “pirate” too…

DRM is not the solution, Major have to respect the consumers!

Respect the consumers!

An old-fashioned girl discovers new technology…

I have heard the word “podcast” every day for few months! Still more since September and my arrival to CELSA… To be honest, I don’t really know what it means. I don’t have an Ipod or any MP3 player but don’t worry for me: nevertheless, I can survive in the subway with a book or newspaper!

“Podcast’ has been defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary as “a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player”. To me, the difference between a simple record and a podcast is not clear. Indeed, before the podcast, it was also possible to record a radio or TV show and put it on a website. But now, the podcasting allows individuals to publish broadcastings and they can be shared easily. I found a definition of podcasting on a website : in fact, this term, created by Adam Curry a former of MTV, describe the technology used to push audio content from websites down to consumers.

The word “podcast” is a mix between Ipod and broadcasting, so that, it closely related to the Apple company which sells the famous audio player, the unbelievable Ipod! Moreover, the website “itunes”, associated to Apple to provide music, movies and podcasts to the Ipod owners, clearly benefits of the rise of the podcasting. I’m not sure the word podcast belongs to Apple company…