Reflection (No, not Mulan)

So we’ve reached the end of the semester! Time has really flown.

Looking back at what I wrote about, I realized that this module is just… well, it could’ve been named a lot more accurately. It isn’t really Introduction to the Internet. It is more than that. In this module, I also learned about how we can use technology to communicate. Yea but it was only at the end of the semester that I realized why it is a communication module.

I learned about social media, which is how I can make use of the infrastructure that is already out there, for free, for me to use, to create, upload, and disseminate information. Because I am already familiar with social media, it was a breeze to understand what was going on in class, but it was slightly more difficult to think about it from a business perspective. This is, however, very useful knowledge, as most companies have an online presence, and who are the ones who would have to manage company social media accounts? Yep, it could be me one day! That’s why I felt it was a useful topic to learn about, and to learn about the consequences of what we post. Having to blog about social media marketing fails was informative, as I not only get to see the consequences of some really lousy usage social media, I can learn from their mistakes.

Futuristic technology seemed very sci-fi to me, but little did I know, technology had already caught up with sci-fi to such a great extent. I really have to thank this class for showing that to me, and opening my eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities. I really was in awe of how technology has been used in the medical industry, to allow people to regain a part of their lives that they had lost. For example, there is a prototype of a sort of technology that will allow paraplegics to control a robotic arm by just using their brain. In the future, they might be able to control their entire body with the brains, by using such technology to re-connect the damaged nerves, so that they could return back to their lives with all their limbs in working order, sort of like being a Cyborg.

The image below is what I assume most people would think of when I mention robots or cyborgs…

But this is what came to my mind! lol

Learning about various business models was also quite unexpected in a module named “Introduction to the Internet”. I not only learned about AIDA, but I also learned about how to make use of technology to market and improve business plans by use of strategy. Being introduced to various internet tools and Google tools showed me how innovation can result in such great business ideas. Innovation doesn’t have to be inventing a whole new thing- it can simply be to improve and build on what already exists. I think this is especially important, because I decided to return to university to study to achieve higher level thinking from the education provided at university level, and I feel that this is exactly the kind of thing that will push me to develop better as a useful person who can contribute back to society. This module has shown me a great deal of innovative ideas, and also included a whole host of resources that I can turn to for more information.

In this module, we also focused on something other than money-making businesses- education. E-learning has become such a norm that I took it for granted. However, I learned how and why the current online learning model came to be, and how it can be improved further. I feel that it is important to note that the topics covered can be linked together. For example, augmented reality/virtual reality can definitely be incorporated into e-learning for a more enhanced learning experience. Other than e-learning, there is also something else that is related to our lives as communication undergraduates- journalism. It is especially useful to know more about journalism, and to know that the age of digital journalism is here AND is pushing away traditional journalism. But that is rather common knowledge; what makes this especially useful is that we have to research more on journalism, and blog about it. I like how we are encouraged to explore possibilities and blog about what the future might hold, what technology can do to bring the industry to the next level. By researching, we learn more about journalism and the changes and challenges that journalism has faced, and we can exercise our rusty brains to think of potential solutions or talk about technology that has the potential to improve the way things are currently done.

On top of all the knowledge and innovative ideas that we are encouraged to produce, I also think that it is pretty interesting how the professor would share with us about news such as Google Balloons and the recent landing of comet. Each piece of news makes me amazed at technology. The last lesson of show and tell is likewise, very fun and useful, as we share our knowledge of technology advancement with our peers.

Thanks, professor!

Futuristic Internet Tool

For this post, I will be talking about my ideal internet tool of the future.

There’s so many awesome things to hope for! But there is a tool that would benefit a whole bunch of people, even if they are usually low profile and are not a well-known group of people. We all know that there are people who “adopt” a child overseas right? Check out this website for an example of this program!

Instead of actually adopting a child back to your own home to raise and care for, this is a charity program whereby people are able to sponsor a child with either money or resources that the child needs. Usually, people sponsor a child’s school fees, or give a monthly sum of money to a child as allowance so that that child can have money to buy food. Usually, the child in question is one from a third world country, and do not have money for food, clothing, shelter, education, insurance, and more. These kind-hearted people usually never gets to meet the child they sponsor, and in some cases, donations are anonymous so they won’t ever know the child even if they wanted to.

My inspiration came from an article I read recently, about a 14 year old girl who adopted a dog, and this dog started to get depression as the family grew up and had more and more activities outside of the home. The dog would be left alone at home. Many pet owners find that this is inevitable, but this girl decided to take things into her own hands, and invented iCPooch. Below is an exerpt from the website, explaining just what is iCPooch.

iCPooch is a pet treat dispenser and computer all in one! iCPooch is a revolutionary new way to keep in touch with your pet while away from home, allowing you to video chat and deliver a them a treat over the internet. Seamlessly conduct a 2-way video chat with your favorite furry friend and deliver a treat with the press of a button from anywhere in the world. Check on your pet while at work or on vacation to ease your pet’s anxiety (or yours). iCPooch is the perfect solution for checking in on your pet while you are at work, at the game, deployed military, college bound students who will miss their furry friend, or just the busy pet owner. You can also bring iCPooch to your petsitter and connect it to their wifi!

This video below will illustrate simply how iCPooch works!

Not to say that the childen are pets, of course, but can you imagine if there is such a tool? Since we know that the Google balloons provide certain areas with internet connection, if there were a tool for sponsors and their children to meet each other virtually, at a low cost, then the two parties can really form a connection.

In many cases, these children do not have the love they need from their parents or guardians when growing up. They might not even have parents at all, and are being pushed around from one foster family to another. We know that love is very important for children to grow up confident of themselves, and they need loving adults in their lives to guide them on the right path, to teach them right from wrong, and to teach them how to hope and aspire for more. Well, this can happen if there is a tool similar to iCPooch. The sponsors are definitely people who care about these children, because why else would they donate money and resources to these children if they did not? The children can “meet” their sponsors and interact with them. Their accomplishments in school can be shared with the very people who paid for their education, and they would be able to get praise and encouragement in such a way. In return, the sponsors would be able to see the impact of their donation, and be heartened.

The current model can be enhanced if there were a tool similar to iCPooch!

This kind of tool can even help to broaden the children’s horizons, as they would be able to look into a different world. They can have a glimpse into the lives of their sponsors and get a taste of the different culture. If they had any troubles, they can always speak to their sponsors by just connecting using this tool. Support is important. Research has shown that for American children who do not have such support growing up, they can be 25% more likely to be a school drop out, 40% increased likelihood of becoming a teenage parent, and 70% more likely to get into trouble with the law. By just providing them with the tool to connect with someone who can show them the love and support they so need, the chances of them ending up on the wrong path can be lessened drastically.

It is not just the children who gain from it. The sponsors also gain by being able to verify that they are truly helping a child in need. In these times, with so many scams (cheating monk imposters and churches came into mind, for example), those who sponsor can only do as much research as they can, and trust in their decision and in the organization to which they are donating money to. In most cases, these are people who want to make a difference in the children’s lives. This tool would give them the ability to really make a difference and see the difference in the children’s lives. Just like how the children needs them and their words of encouragement, they will be able to share some pearls of wisdom with the children.

Even though this tool won’t be revolutionary or help us progress further economically, it will help us progress more as human beings. I hope that there will be more empathy in the world in the future, who prioritize the welfare of other human beings as well as any living creature over selfish monetary gain.

Journalism in 2020

As technology advances and traditional media fades into the shadow of the ten times more convenient and awesome new media, we see a great deal of industries affected. The impact of technology on journalism is particularly strong, so that’s what we will be talking about today.

Let’s briefly talk about the changing times. First, media content is totally controlled by businesses/organizations right? Back in those days, people would wait for news to be broadcasted daily on the radio or on the newspaper. If they had anything to say, it wouldn’t be disseminated widely enough to have as great as impact on people as compared to radio stations and newspaper publications. Then suddenly, Web 2.0 arrived and people realized that they, too, had the power to broadcast news and whatever other information they liked. Naturally, this gave rise to citizen journalism in the form of blogs and websites. People express their views and thoughts online, be it similar or in contrast to what traditional media was broadcasting. Not only could they write about what they wanted to say, soon, FaceBook came into the picture and people could share pictures with their network as well. Written work, pictures, what’s next? Duh. Videos! I bet the word “YouTube” popped into most people’s minds. YouTube has become the Google of videos. It gives users the simple and idiot-proof means of uploading and sharing videos, so it encouraged millions of people to film their own videos, be it fun home-videos, mean yet funny compilation of people failing in public, or serious videos talking about their views on world issues.

So what about the big companies? They are now faced with millions of prosumers, which lessens their power, and gives them problems such as authenticity. What I mean by that is, prosumers can post whatever they like, even if it is untrue or inaccurate. This can confuse consumers, as the same issue can be reported with varying pieces of information. Who would know what is real and what isn’t? Companies also have to be extra cautious about what they say, as prosumers are empowered to broadcast their dissatisfaction to a wide network of friends with just one simple post. Not only that, but companies have to think about the issues they want to focus on, so as to retain their audience. We have so many avenues to head for when we want to read up on some news, so this has become an increasingly critical factor for companies to think of when considering readership loyalty. With things advancing at such a fast pace, let’s consider what journalism would be like in 2020.

I thought it would be a fun change to write this post as if I were a journalist in 2020, so here we go!

It is 2020. As I walk down the street towards R Cafe, I observe that the roads are filled with people checking the news on mobile computers. I don’t mean mobile phones like back in 2014 (lol). These are far more advanced gadgets that are connected to the Internet of Things (IOT), and are wearable. I myself am wearing IOT-enabled contact lenses, an earpiece, a ring, and shoes.

My contact lenses alerts me to a commotion happening two blocks away from my current location. Using a series of eye movements that makes me look like an idiot (but it’s ok, because this is the norm in 2020), my contact lenses plot a route for me to get there. I activate my earpiece as it enhances my hearing and records whatever goes on. This is especially useful for when I reach the area of commotion and it turns out to be a juicy piece of news to report.

I’ve reached the location. Turns out it is a scene of some animatrons freaking out. Animatrons are still fairly new technology, and has just been introduced to the streets to do simple tasks. Due to the decreasing sales in newspapers and magazines, these animatrons are stationed at booths on this street so that people can order a particular magazine or newspaper to be printed and sold to them immediately. This innovative print-as-you-sell business model was implemented when companies faced such a huge dilemma in determining the amount of their publications to print, since sales had dwindled so much. These animatrons are now an important part of journalism, as they are also able to customize news for customers, seeing as how each magazine or newspaper is printed on the spot, so they have to be connected to the headquarters to be updated on news every second. Currently, the main source of news still comes from human journalists like myself, who report news as and when we get them, like right now.

I report news in 2020 without the need to write.

I quickly connect my ring to my contact lenses, and press the little button on my ring to snap photographs of the animatrons going whack on the street. The photographs captured are whatever my eye sees. All I have to do is to not blink when snapping the photographs, and I would get really great shots. The crowd is getting more excitable. I step aside to a safer spot and hold on to the streetlamp for balance before activating my shoes. Ridiculously, I am elevated for a short height as my shoes allow me to hover a few metres above ground, so that I can snap photographs at a better angle, without the crowd blocking my view. This should provide some information for my fitness level, as these are also my running shoes. IOT running shoes in 2020 is like fitness Facebook as artificial intelligence will track and calculate the distance I travelled, including slopes or steps, and factor in the load that I am carrying at the moment, and I can see how many calories burned. My friends and I are all interconnected and this is how us future generation have motivation to keep fit.

Just then, techies arrive on the scene. Response time is always short, as AI would detect something happening, and alert the technical department, who would head down immediately to fix the issue. I briefly and informally interview some people in the crowd to get their views and concerns on the issue, and chase after some techies to find out the cause of the malfunction, and head off to R Cafe. Some things about journalism hasn’t changed- human journalists are still hounding people for information. At R Cafe, I go to a quiet corner so that people wouldn’t overhear what I would soon be reporting. I project a screen with my contact lenses, which are connected to my online database of news where I can share information with my company after I am done “typing” out my report, much like an external hard drive + cloud system. The AI already has a written document ready for me, filled with whatever my earpiece has recorded- it knows to convert the sounds it hears into words. The photographs I took are also in this document, as AI recognizes that the recording and photographs were taken only a few seconds apart, which tells it that these are related documents. Because of geolocation technology, AI has captioned all photographs with what it identifies as a malfunction of robots and the location at which it occurred. I begin talking to my ring softly, and on the projected screen in front of me, I can see that it has picked up my voice and has begun writing a news report. In minutes, I am done.

Digital in 2020!

I pull up the video recording of the entire event, which is available as I had set my contact lenses to keep a recording whenever the camera function was activated. It would always record in the background even as I am using the other functions. I edit the video easily as the projected screen also works as a touch screen. Then, I submit my latest piece of news to my company. AI helps, but there are still dozens of editors hired to vet through news submitted by journalists. In minutes, my work was approved and submitted to the central headquarters, where it is added to the stream of news that is available to everyone in the world. To see how my work turned out, I opened it and viewed it as a civilian, and not as a journalist. In 2020, there are two sections to choose from: what we call the “official” journalism and citizen journalism. This is to help readers differentiate from what is the truth and what may be inaccurate or fabricated information. My credentials as a journalist puts my news in the official journalism stream. We recognize the citizen journalism is still important, as people should have the power to speak their minds, and that not everyone makes up nonsense to post online. Official news are till written with a bias, even if all information has to be accurate, and citizen journalism is there to provide different perspectives to readers. My contact lenses projects the video before me, and I interact with it by pausing it and dragging the view around until I can see what I wanted to see. I swipe that aside and view the report on the left. Satisfied, I closed all applications with a voice command.

Back to 2014!

So… I cringed at some parts but you get what I’m saying. In 2020, which isn’t that far off, if you think about it, journalism would have changed in some aspects, but technology would definitely have had a hand in helping it grow further. IOT would have a big hand in it, if not 2020, maybe fifty more years down the road, as it would revolutionize news if it could be presented in a more interactive manner, such as using holograms or augmented reality. It can also make it a lot more convenient for people to view news from wearable technology.

The internet can keep us more connected to the political scene

you can go anywhere you want but stay engaged, stay invested in Malaysia.

That’s what social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir said on 22 November, 2014, at the private dialogue session with young activists. The event was organized by UndiMalaysia.

Marina is the daughter of the previous Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Marina Mahathir. After graduating from the University of Sussex, she spent more than 20 years campaigning for human rights, focusing on women’s rights.

Social Activist, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir

Background Information

The following is a summary of what caused Marina to speak at the event, focusing on NEP causing discontentment and resulting in many youths giving up their Malaysian citizenship. Skip the next four paragraphs to get to the actual topic of the blog post:

In the last 35 years, approximately one million Malaysians have given up citizenship to go abroad in this time frame, meaning around 30,000 Malaysians are immigrating each year. Truth be told, with my scarce knowledge of what goes on in the world, I assumed that most of these Malaysians were Chinese, as it seems like the infamous reputation of the supposedly corrupt authority in Malaysia has become increasingly rigid and strict, making many citizens feel repressed.

One unhappy netizen noted that the government is helping only certain Malaysians, saying that while the Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Chinese have no issue with the government helping either race, both parties, along with the rest of Malaysian citizens, are greatly displeased by how the government is biased towards the wealthy, and helps the rich get richer by using the New Economic Policy as a smokescreen. It is noted that since the implementation of the New Economic Policy in 1970, a number of notable figures has spoken up about how the NEP has been a cost to doing business in Malaysia, and is a cause for hindering economic progress, instead of being a help to doing business in Malaysia as it was intended for, as claimed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

European Union Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Thierry Rommel

One notable figure is European Union Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Thierry Rommel and the director of the  business analysis group Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) Justin Wood, who have voiced out harsh criticism of the NEP as “anti-competitive and an unacceptable cost of doing business in Malaysia.” Later on, when several “inefficient Malay enterprises continue to be granted huge contracts without open tenders merely because of connections”, PM Abdullah admitted that the NEP was indeed a cost to doing business in Malaysia, especially when the policy excluded investors in the Iskandar Development Region in Johor.

Director of Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) Justin Wood

Now, remember the immigration figures from before? It turns out that the million Malaysians who gave up their citizenship was not made up mostly of Malaysian Chinese, as I had initially assumed, but in fact, a whopping 70% were Malaysian Malays. What shocks me further is that political observers such as Datuk Zaid Ibrahim stepped up to say that more Malaysian Malays will continue to leave, as the “growing religious fundamentalism and authoritarianism that leaves little room for free thought and dissent”. The Datuk was previously Malaysia’s Cabinet minister! The words he spoke reflects how, in recent times, the government has revealed that they are not really a moderate Muslim nation as they claim to be, but in fact, as conservative and intolerant of any culture or practices that are foreign to their religious views. Even Marina agrees, citing that “Islamic authorities have gradually become more rigid in their interpretation and application of the Shariah code in Islam.” As such, she recognizes that so many young people are leaving the country in hopes of more freedom, and for more fairness. To those who do not have connections, they are at a disadvantage.

Back to how technology can help keep young people involved in politics!

Marina states that she understands why young Malaysians are leaving the nation, but appeals to them to continue to support and fight for equality and fairness in Malaysia, despite not being in the nation physically. Instead, she hopes that Malaysians will make use of technology to stay connected.

We spoke in class about how politicians turned to social media and the internet to reach out to their voters, but I feel that it works the other way around too. As in, voters go online to search for news about the candidates! They can keep abreast of news easily by choosing to continue to receive news of Malaysia politics online, or even when on the go, thanks to mobile applications. This speaks true for the youths, especially, as traditional media is far less popular than say, social media. Social media such as Facebook is an easy way to stay connected as it is a tool for these young people to get information, and disseminate information in the form of “sharing” posts to their friends. They can find like-minded individuals who share the same opinions, or find those who disagree, and start an online discussion in the comments section. They can also use Facebook pages and groups to facilitate such purposes.

Politics on the go connects youths and keeps them involved.

Likewise, Twitter has also played its part in politics. For example, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said that he used Twitter to find responses towards a statement that had been released earlier, as a means to connect to his people and to hear their voices. Despite the limitation of 140 words in each tweet, the popular use of hashtags in Twitter can be very helpful in finding tweets with specific content, as demonstrated by Kony 2012 and Treyvon Martin. It is so easy for anyone to find news, read it quickly in just 140 characters or view photographs in tweets to know more, and takes just one tap to re-tweet or quote a tweet, spreading the piece of information to countless more people. One thing to note here that I realized we didn’t cover in class- tweets get washed out of most users’ feeds in a matter of seconds, as there are too many tweets being tweeted at any one time. Users can use Twitter clients to help get around this problem by scheduling their tweets to be tweeted throughout the day, so that their online presence can become stronger. There are many Twitter clients to choose from: Hootsuite, Timely,is, Buffer, Roost, and more. This gives the administrator the freedom to focus on replying to tweets and engaging with voters. #Politweets #seewhatididthere

Tweeting is an easy way to get information on various political issues- with just a tap of the figurative button, they can find and share information.

Facebook and Twitter are the most common, but what other ways can the internet help keep youths connected to the political scene?

In class, professor spoke of an awesome music video that became very popular and was hugely successful in spreading its message. That made me think about video blogging. It is a widely used tool by many youths, as well as youth activists, to connect with people. Through video blogging, youths can speak their mind, find like-minded individuals and support, and even post comments or video responses to each other, which is great for discourse. Because videos can be shared easily on social media as well, they have also been used to gather people for events such as flash mobs. For example, youths are voicing out on Slum-TV, where “regular” people such as you and I gather and report news. Another example is Indymedia, otherwise known as the Independent Media Center. It has been applauded as being the link between youths and social movement activism, and promoting more involvement in youths to participate more, by providing them with necessary infrastructure.

Indymedia

I think that Marina is right to put so much trust in the internet to keep the Malaysian youths connected to the nation, despite not being there physically. Between 2008 and 2012, there has been an increase in the number of social networking site users from 33% to 69%, with a steep increase in the number of users who post or share political news, befriend political figures, follow political figures, and join an online group that has a political objective. Pew Research found that a considerable proportion of people surveyed actually responded that they are more prone towards such actions to learn more about the political scene because they had already been active online. I find it interesting to note that they had integrated politics so seamlessly into their lives by making use of the internet.

Also, in class, we talked about how Obama has made social media a key component of campaigning. I think that, as with many other issues, social media is useful to help make a certain topic the hot news of the moment, but after some time, it dies down and people forget about it. There really was an increase of young voters (referring to voters below 30 years old) during the election from 9 to 17%, but the numbers decreased once again after the voting was done and over with. However, I think that this can be overcome by simply narrowing down the scope of politics to target youths. With the internet nowadays, we can all choose to receive only certain news from the pipeline, so we can become blind to important news that we are just not concerned about. So, by narrowing the scope into something that youths care about, they might choose to be more involved in that aspect. For example, research has shown that youths are more concerned about issues that they have a stake in, such as employment, education and education. Naturally, youths also have a better understanding of such issues as it concerns their current everyday lives. Therefore, if there are more online groups that are organized around those issues, youths would be more likely to remain involved.

Knowledge can help to mobilize youths.

Lastly, I feel that youths are apathetic towards politics because they do not understand it, and the internet can change that. The internet is a popular tool for youths (and everyone else, really) to learn and find information. Many youths do not even know about the process of voting (or even when or where it occurs), so it is only natural for them to turn to the internet to find out more. With more knowledge, they will have more understanding of the political scene. And with more understanding, they might feel more connected and be more inclined towards involving themselves in the world of politics.

Virtual Reality- Homido

(Because we focused on this topic for two weeks, I decided to split my post into 2, so that it won’t be so long. This is Part 2, Virtual Reality. Check out Part 1, Augmented Reality, here!)

Since the topic is virtual reality applications, which can be interpreted in various ways, I decided to focus on literally how virtual reality can be applied. Homido is the company that I will be talking about, because they have awesomely created a virtual reality smartphone adapter, as well as an application for smartphones that can play virtual reality videos on both platforms! I’m referring to iOS and Android, of course.

Have a look at this video that introduces Homido’s VR adapter and smartphone application!

Let’s take a look at the adapter and application separately.

1. Homido Virtual Reality Smartphone Adapter

Homido Virtual Reality Smartphone Adapter i.e. the headpiece

The future is now! Haha because this adapter can already be pre-ordered. The adapter works by attaching to a smartphone as a virtual reality headpiece. Chances are, it will attach and work well with your smartphone, because it is compatible with over 80 smartphones. This headpiece has one pair of lenses that is similar to goggles, and comes with a strap (you wouldn’t want to drop it and break it, would you?).  When used with the Homido application, however, it seems as if technology is not yet as advanced as we hope it to be, because users cannot actually use the headpiece to perform functions. The headpiece is there to allow users to view content in 3D format, such as when projecting videos out to watch, with limited interactivity, as mentioned by a current user:

Currently there’s not any effective means of interacting with the page while wearing the headset, but the functionality is there… If the phone’s camera is exposed… all one needs to do is print out a paper “keyboard” with fiducial tracking AR markers mapped. Then when a finger/fingers, occlude a marker pattern, it gets converted to keystrokes. This AR keyboard pops up as a live camera overlay on the app of-course.

2. Homido Virtual Reality Smartphone Application

Homido Virtual Reality Smartphone Application: the side-by-side menu allows you to view different things on the left and right side concurrently.

The application that Homido developed is able to play virtual games and can show users game play in these formats: a full 360 degree, cyclindrical shapes, 3D and the basic 2D. It is not just for games. You can use the application to play videos and surf the net, either in a landscape or portrait view. You can even view content by arranging them side-by-side, or better yet, projection-style, for easy viewing. What I think is great about the Homido application is that users can still make full use of this app even when paired with other virtual reality headpieces, such as the Google Cardboard or Durovis Dive (seen below).

This is the Google Cardboard.

This is the Durovis Dive.

Some food for thought: Even though there are a few VR headsets and smartphone applications out on the market, there seems to be a lack of smartphones that are developed to work as a VR smartphone. There have been some feedback that this caused the VR experience to be lacking, as the phone is unable to allow users to fully appreciate the VR quality and functions of VR headsets and applications.

Now, how did all this begin? Two Atari employees had big dreams of making virtual reality, well, a reality. They were certain that it would change the world. Dramatic people, no doubt, but I can’t say I disagree with them on this. So, in 1985, Jaron Lanier and Thomas Zimmerman resigned from Atari and created VPL Research, being fully unaware that VPL is popular for the acronym “Visible Panty Line”. At VPL Research, Lanier and Zimmerman successfully developed a headpiece, data sensory glove, surround sound (audio), a 3D rendering engine and even virtual reality programme language. Unfortunately, these two bankrupted the research company in developing the above items, declaring bankruptcy in 1990.

Regardless, they were pioneers in this field. Their developments kickstarted the interest in virtual reality programs, and even after they failed, other companies began to develop their own VR programs. Who says we can’t learn from failure? ^^

Interpol in Singapore- the Digital Crime Centre

I’m actually a little confused about what the topic my blog post is supposed to be about after the exam, but I think I should be correct if I make sure to cover every topic, in roughly the same order! After all, it’s the content that counts, right? Hahaha

Today’s content will be on cyber crime! Instead of talking about a type of cyber crime, I will talk about a piece of cyber crime-related news in Singapore that I felt was cool, and just wanted to share with whoever reads my blog!

Basically, cyber crime is any crime that occurs online, or even offline in some cases, that involves computers and networks. Hacking is a prime example of cyber crime. Others include the more “traditional” types of crime that can occur online as well, such as identity theft, credit card account theft, Internet fraud and even extreme hating on someone is considered a form of cyber crime. When I say extreme hating, I am referring to any material posted/circulated online that can either be false or true about someone/an organisation, but has malicious intent to stir up negativity so as to threaten or harass someone/an organisation.

Anyway, back to the piece of news that I found.

Everyone knows about the Interpol, right? The awesome guys (which refers to both male and females) who crack down on the “evil-doers” of the world and make our world a safer and generally more fantastic place to live in? Well, the French-based (specifically, headquartered at Lyon) Interpol sure does like our little island-state, because we’ve been chosen to be the site of their first ever Digital Crime Centre (DCC)!

Interpol logo

The Digital Crime Centre will be located at Napier Road, but right now, they’re so eager to protect us from evil cyber crime lords that they’ve already begun operations at a temporary site while the intended building is under construction. Yay! The intended building will be the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation, and construction is expected to be completed in April 2015. It actually was a building used by the Ministry of Home Affairs, but they have recently passed it over to the Interpol for the DCC.

The building for the Digital Crime Centre in Singapore

What do they do at the DCC? Well, the DCC helps nations protect better protect themselves by offering support in the form of information, advice, and technical support. For example, knowing the latest cyber crime trend will greatly assist nations in preventing the crime from happening. (Fun fact! Some organisations say that the top cybercrime trends at the moment are “malicious” mobile applications, “money-laundering through virtual currencies” and malware attacks.) In addition, DCC also shares information with the private sector. With the government and private sector working together, they can share vital information to enable better protection against cybercrime.

On top of that, there will be a digital forensic lab and cyber fusion centre at the DCC. The five IT experts and investigators in charge of the aforementioned facilities will mainly focus on “practical technology that provides investigators with the capacity to better coordinate and conduct national and regional investigations”. What this basically means is that DCC will work to discover cyber trends, and work on developing technology to help better fight cyber crime- sort of like a technology to make it easier for “cyber police” to catch “cyber criminals”.

Designed by MEOWmoonbeam

I have here a quote from our Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Iswaran, that I felt summarized the need for DCC and their operations quite well.

“Today, criminals operate in loose and agile networks. They move quickly and operate from different locations to avoid detection and prosecution by law enforcement agencies,” he said… They have also been able to diversify their operations, resulting in the emergence of new threats, such as cybercrime, and transnational organised crime. Their illegal activities have a global footprint, constantly adopting new technologies and alliances, to stay ahead of law enforcement.”

Why did the Interpol choose Singapore to be the site of DCC? The decision was made in 2010 at a general assembly, where all 190 member countries of Interpol took a vote. Some member countries include: Albania, USA, Brunei, Belgium, Mexico, and others. (Fun Fact! The Interpol noticed Singapore and considered us as a possible location for DCC after knowing that we hosted the inaugural F1 night race, 2008.)

Interpol Secretary General, Mr Ronald K Noble (left) with Singapore’s Second Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Iswaran (right)

Even thought this is a very new initiative, the DCC has already proven itself to be a great use for society in terms of cyber crime protection. Just this year, through sharing information with law enforcement agencies in neighbouring countries, DCC assisted with the uncovering and eventual arrest of various sextortion cases. Almost 200 people were involved in these sextortion crimes.

I’m sure we all feel quite safe in Singapore, but let me show you why the DCC is needed in Singapore, or in any other country. The reason why we feel safe is because Singapore has been keeping up with crime and constantly thinking of ways to prevent crimes from happening. Social media (even the police use social media) keeps us updated on ways to avoid being victims of crime, ways to keep ourselves out of dangerous situations, and information on how to contact the authorities if we spot any suspicious activity or if we have become victims of crime.

As with many things in Singapore, the Singapore Police Force released statistics on crime rates, and the latest report on their website shows that online crime rates has increased.

• Specifically, in the first half of 2014, crimes relating to cheating involving e-commerce has increased 425% (408 reported cases), when compared to the first half of 2013.
• Cyber extortion has also increased from 2013 to 2014 (January to June) by 247% (94 reported cases). If that is not shocking enough, these figures indicate that around S$54,000 was cheated in cyber extortion in just 6 months of 2014!

The graph below is from the report, and it shows a comparison of cyber scams from 2013 and 2014, within the period of January to June.

A comparison of cyber scams from 2013 and 2014, within the period of January to June. Source: http://www.spf.gov.sg

That’s how serious things are getting. Let’s all be more careful online.

Well, I’ll end with a photo of what the Lyon headquarters look like, if anyone is interested.

Augmented Reality- the Inch High Stunt Guy (2011) & Anatomy 4D (2013)!

(Because we focused on this topic for two weeks, I decided to split my post into 2, so that it won’t be so long. This is Part 1, Augmented Reality. Check out Part 2, Virtual Reality, here!)

Today’s topic will be quite futuristic as well, in my opinion. I will be focusing on augmented reality applications.

Not to be confused with virtual reality, augmented reality, simply speaking, brings the virtual world out into our human world. (In contrast, virtual reality brings us into the virtual world.) If you still aren’t sure, I’ve made a little something (below) that I hope will help you to understand the difference! If you still can’t get it, then after reading this blog post and my blog post about virtual reality, you will be clearer about the distinction between the two!

Augmented reality actually serves to make our lives easier by helping us to complete tasks with greater… well, ease. Check out this video by Qualcomm (2011)! It’s pretty amazing what people can do with technology. Later on, we will take a look at how technology has progressed in augmented reality by comparing it with a newer application!

How does that help make our lives easier, you say?

Let’s take a look at the second game mentioned in the video: Inch High Stunt Guy (1:13min). Using the cool board (that is also a great marketing tool, I guess, since they printed the name of the game in HUGE block letters), users can create and move obstacles around to create a course for the Inch Guy to ride his stunt bike on. He then soars through the air triumphantly or explodes in failure, and users can re-set the course with a tap of a button. Quick, simple and tidy!

Without augmented reality, users would have to physically get the obstacles and build them, then set up a little stunt man on a bike on a ramp before he can ride the course they built. In this case, there would be less of a visual and sound impact, as there would not be accompanying noises (such as the revving of a powerful engine, or the explosion noise), nor would there be a huge red flame of virtual fire if there was an explosion.

Not only that, but users would have to manually gather and re-build the course again from the pieces scattered around by the stunt man’s first round. All these adds up to a less entertaining, messier game, which probably would take up more space in storage as well (due to the addition of the building blocks for the obstacles). #troublesome

Explosions- not so good in real life

I was going to say that it would be safer to have a little stunt guy breaking apart obstacle courses in the virtual world as opposed to one in the human world, but with all the exploding handphone cases these days, I guess I can leave this point out. Lol.

Even though the examples in the video are all games, it still shows how augmented reality brings virtual elements into our lives, and makes our tasks (to play!) easier.

So that was the example from years ago. What about now? Let’s look at more recent developments in the field of augmented reality technology. Frankly, I was quite amazed at how much it had progressed in such a short span of time (2-3 years). Look at this application, launched just last year! It’s called Anatomy 4D and is free to download on Apple and Android smartphones. I decided to talk about Anatomy 4D even though there are applications that were launched in 2014, because it is a great example of a combination of e-learning and augmented reality. 

Developed by DAQRI, which is said to be a pioneer of AR, Anatomy 4D is an application that will greatly help medical or biology students learn in a fun and interesting manner. Or just anyone, in general. It is a really educational application, so much so that “dozens of professors and universities, including the University of Illinois, Stanford, and Trinity College” has recognized this application and commended it on its part in educating about the human body. In addition, its popularity is in part due to the ease of use.

What is does is to create a 3D image of a 2D target image:

A peek into how the Anatomy 4D looks like.

1. Users then take a photo of the target using their smartphone camera.
2. Anatomy 4D will show not only a 3D image of the human body, but it will include organs as well.
3. Users can switch between male/female bodies.
4. Users can zoom in and out of the target image, or change the angle of the image.
5. Users can also choose to view only certain parts of not only the image, but of specific systems such as respiratory, skeletal or lymphatic systems. For example, one can view only the skeletal layout, then layer on veins, followed by muscle tissue, then add in organs.

This is the target image mentioned in step 1.

DAQRI Anatomy 4D Target Image

Check out DAQRI’s video for Anatomy 4D below:

Perhaps in the future, we can see this sort of application, with projected images of the human (or any other creature) body, that can be easily used with any smartphone.

Projected imagery of the human system.

Editing and Uploading a Video

This week- uploading a video!

I was going to upload a home video of myself giving a house tour when I was around 11 years old, but I couldn’t find the video, so I made a new one on some free software I found online (thanks, Google!).

So I ended up using VideoPad Video Editor. I don’t do many videos so I’m not too sure what is a good or bad software, but I think this one is really good for novices like me, since it’s really user-friendly. i.e. It’s idiot proof.

• Step 1: I can drag video clips into a little box. This will be my “clipboard” for the rest of the video editing session.
• Step 2: From this “clipboard”, all I have to do is drag the file I want into a video sequence at the bottom of the screen.
• Step 3: Then, there are only two buttons I need to cut the individual video clips- one to “flag” the beginning of the clip to use, and another for the ending of the clip!
• Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 until the entire video sequence is done.
• Step 5: Insert music and captions, as well as edit the volume.

Sounds simple enough, right? ^^

However, after viewing the whole clip, I realized that the whenever my fan blows in the direction of the camera, it creates noise that drowns out my voice! Thankfully, the parts I decided to include in the video did not have that problem.

In addition, despite closing the windows to mute the outside noises, I could not drown out the noises of traffic. The software did not allow me to just lower the noise and keep my voice at the same volume. That would be part of the premium features which I would have to pay for. Even adding background music to make it less noisy failed to work. Instead, it increased the overall noisiness of the video, so I apologize for that.

I did add some music- which I hope is chill and relaxing- to the clips with my vacation scenes, though! ^^v

Check it out here (skip to 1:02 mins for the actual vacation shots):

Other than this, there are actually a ton of other video editing software out there for you to choose from. What I found interesting is this website, Kizoa.com.

It allows users to create slideshows, and even provides many templates ranging from cute to classy designs! The most interesting part is that it allows users to upload videos as well as photographs into the slides. Kizoa even has basic editing tools for both, such as adjusting the sizes of both videos and photographs, inserting text, and adjusting the length of each slide.

What I found interesting about Kizoa is that it is quite an advanced version of the usual slideshows. There are a few online slideshow editors I know, but they just zoom in to still photographs, or present still photographs in creative ways. Never have I seen a website that allows so much editing to be done, and allows the embedding of videos and photographs so seamlessly.

However, in order to export it, share it or basically view the finished product in any means other than logging in to your own (free) account, users have to pay a monthly subscription to the website.

I made a slideshow here, but I was only able to share it if I discarded all the editing made on noise, volume, and music selection. Therefore, the end result is noisy and unappealing. If you watch it, I suggest you turn the volume down.

Google Talk- an old Google service

The professor shared with us a whole range of Google services and tools in class this week. While they are all innovative and practical for our lives, I find that Google has way too many different projects in its pipeline. Surely there are some that didn’t work out and or has been discontinued?

I found Google Talk, which is no longer in use. Google Talk reminds me of MSN messenger. It even gave users the option to choose their status e.g. “Busy” or “Available”!

In 2005, Google Talk came into our lives (or maybe our parents’ lives?). It is an application that has to be downloaded onto customers’ computers for them to chat with each other, meaning it is not totally Web-based.

Check out this video below to see what was like, since it is no longer available for us to download and use!

Users can use it for the following functions:

• Send instant messages
• Send files of any size
• Voice call
• Leave voice messages if someone did not answer the call
• Chat with people on different systems- Google boasted about its interoperability

It seems like a good idea, right? Back then, people did not really use handphones as much as they do now, probably because phones weren’t “smart” and as awesome as they are now. I used to prefer a digital camera over using my camera phone, because the phone I owned at the time was still at VGA quality. So, doesn’t Google Talk make it possible for us to communicate with everyone using our computers like how we use our smartphones today?

Well, that’s how I see it anyway. ^^

As for sending files, I can see how useful that would be. It was free to do so, and people could send any number of any size of files through Google Talk. I’m sure most people were hooked at “free”, though. However, think about it- the speed at which the files are sent must have been at a snail’s pace. We didn’t have fibre optic back then. And at that time, there was a very real risk that you could be charged a lot by your ISP for sending large files over Google Talk, as you could easily exceed your data cap! (See? Sounds like how we “bust” our data plan on smartphones, doesn’t it?)

As an add-on, people can also download Google Talk Gadget, which is a totally Web-based application that gives access to a whole lot of functions available on Google talk- blogs, iGoogle pages, etc. This is probably to counter the shortcomings of having to download Google Talk onto your computer. You would not have it if you had to use a different computer, right?

Today, we can see bits of Google Talk in Orkut and Gmail.

Gmail: We can send instant messages on Gmail, and it is, in my opinion, improved such that we no longer have to download a separate application to use it.

Orkut: Google Talk allows us to send and receive “scraps” on Orkut.

Google Hangout: View the video below to see how to use Google Talk to video call your friend!

Holograms and all that

For this week’s post, let’s leave behind our existing dreary classrooms , and imagine what it would be like to be in the future! 10 years, 20 years, or even 50 years into the beautiful (and frankly, scary) unknown years ahead- it’s up to you!

Disclaimer: since this shall be my own made up Jetsons world, I shall speak of every event as if it will happen, just because I rule the literary world here. ^^

E-learning will become a completely different experience. High-tech gadgetry will be the norm, and these gadgets will make even traveling to school pointless, for they will be able to simulate a classroom setting right there in the comfort of your bedroom.

While this means that lazy students will never have a good reason to skip class again, it is especially useful for those who are sick (health issues), have major issues at having to be with a bunch of other people (mental health issues), or just for those who happen to be late for class! It would be a godsend for part-time students, who can just “pop into class” when they get home from work, thus saving them precious time spent on commute, and allowing them to get more rest- or watch cat videos on YouTube. Whatever.

Meow.

The lecturer will be a life-sized hologram who can see all students in the class in front of him- in real time, no less!- even though all students would physically be sitting elsewhere. [See below!]

If you remember this guy, you had a great childhood.

This will increase the effectiveness of e-learning, because a common issue with the current form of e-learning is that students can “play cheat”. They can click on the video and the system would count their attendance. However, are they really present? They could just as well be watching more cat videos on YouTube in another tab. The future e-learning hologram lecturer would be able to bring a sense of authority to the class. Not only that, but lessons would be far more personal, as he would be able to interact with the students, because more than just his gigantic cranium will be projected as a hologram.

Look, if you had Gordon Ramsey right there being all up in your face just because he can, you would be a very good student indeed.

Or what if, you just had a question to ask during office hours, but you can’t seem to find your professor? There are just some things are not easy to explain without face-to-face interaction. However, with holograms, professors everywhere can project their hologram, along with whatever materials they need to answer your questions. A 3D model? A whiteboard to write out everything as he says? No problem!

“Hang on while I go and grab the 3D model of molecular bonds and I’ll show you how it works.”

I know, I know. The student to professor ratio would mean that professors all over the world would go mental with all the personalized phone calls. A simple solution is to innovate! We are all familiar with automated phone lines.

“For English, please press 1.” *beep*

That’s the key to solving this problem! Professors can pre-record commonly asked questions, or things that require face-to-face explanation, and students will be able to view a pre-recorded hologram, wherever and whenver.

In addition, how about never having to take the public bus/train ever again?

Admit it, we all have had thoughts of teleportation. Perhaps we woke up late, lost track of time, or just had the bus break down while we’re halfway to school?

YESSSS avoid the peak hour jam!

Maybe, in the future, our classrooms are accessible via teleportation? In this case, classes would still be in the traditional brick-and-mortar school. (Or a moon dust and galactic glue school. Take your pick of construction materials.)

Rather than talk about overused ideas like this:

You can never hide behind a monitor during lessons again!

Let’s think about facilities. For example, while the SIM campus has lecture theatres and computer labs, we all know that we’re missing out on facilities that students at the UB campus halfway across the world get to take for granted. In the classroom of the future, we will be able to teleport to any other school to take lessons. A great example would be that medical students will have access to first-class tools and resources! And after class, we can all teleport back home. #convenience

 

The reason why I have taken a different approach towards the topic of e-learning is because I feel that people focus a lot on the teaching methods (e.g. games, lecture slides, audio lectures, etc). As a result, not enough attention is given to the expand the potential of e-learning. What I am talking  about is more like the accompanying support for existing forms of e-learning.

For example, I feel that e-learning should include teleportation in the future, so as to allow students to overcome geographical barriers to take advantage of the fantastic facilities available in the world. This can also help to bring forth the benefits of e-learning, such as convenience and flexibility to learners, improved performance and increased access (taken from Abel Choy’s lecture notes, “Power of Internet for Learning”).

After all, from what I learned in class, e-learning is “learning that is facilitated by the use of digital tools and content”. Holograms and other futuristic gadgetry to facilitate learning should therefore, count as e-learning.