A New Age of Music

The creation of electronic music is a very different approach to making a lot of interesting new sounds. Almost any noise or random sounds around the world can be used in a music composition. Sampling sounds rather than just creating music from instruments seems fun and easy because you don't really have to learn how to play and read notes for the instrument. Instead of using a real guitar, nowadays people can play an electronic guitar on their computers or laptops. This is very useful because learning how to play the strings and putting the music together is a lot easier and more convenient. Laptops are light and portable and easier to bring to places for music entertainment rather than hauling huge equipment, instruments, etc. There are still several talented people who know how to play regular acoustic music, instruments, etc. But now there is a growing amount of people who can easily use software like Garageband to create their own music. You don't even have to be a huge music professional to make music, to cut, to slice, and remix music. Just having some computer skills and creativity can make anyone a music artist.

A New Age of Music

The creation of electronic music is a very different approach to making a lot of interesting new sounds. Almost any noise or random sounds around the world can be used in a music composition. Sampling sounds rather than just creating music from instruments seems fun and easy because you don't really have to learn how to play and read notes for the instrument. Instead of using a real guitar, nowadays people can play an electronic guitar on their computers or laptops. This is very useful because learning how to play the strings and putting the music together is a lot easier and more convenient. Laptops are light and portable and easier to bring to places for music entertainment rather than hauling huge equipment, instruments, etc. There are still several talented people who know how to play regular acoustic music, instruments, etc. But now there is a growing amount of people who can easily use software like Garageband to create their own music. You don't even have to be a huge music professional to make music, to cut, to slice, and remix music. Just having some computer skills and creativity can make anyone a music artist.

Surveillance

I think surveillance is right for society because it can stop and reduce crime. Surveillance really helps detect and deter theft. Even in stores it is useful to record the movements of customers to improve their sales. For security purposes it is also a great tool for stopping people from trying to terrorize the country and enforce the law. It can convict suspected murders. I find that its a useful piece of technology that can track down people and events almost anywhere in the world. Although it does intrude with a person's civil rights, it can be a privacy issue. But the surveillance tracks people to make sure they are doing what they should be doing (like in their jobs.) The only thing wrong about it is if the information of your location gets in the wrong hands. People could find you and take advantage of you. It kind of reminds me of the movie called Eagle Eye where these people were called by this intelligent computer that wanted to overturn the government. They were forced to go on these missions and kill people, steal things, etc. or else they would get killed. Its creepy to know that they can be controlled like that. The advancement of surveillance technology is scary in some ways because of the power that people can have to steal your personal information for destructive purposes. Identity theft is a huge concern about the use of surveillance devices.

I feel that it can be a civil liberty infringement. It is hard to believe that this technology exists almost everywhere - through our own cell phones, printers, etc. I find it scary to know that several companies could gain access to my personal information, my movements, my history, etc. Our society is such a paranoid society and having this kind of technology builds more security to the nation, however it still adds paranoia about these devices tracking people down. I feel paranoid sometimes about other people having knowledge about my whereabouts, and the possibility of taking that knowledge to use against me. Usually I don't have a problem in places like stores because I understand that they use it for security. But having my information tracked on the computer and things like that, kind of makes me feel eery. I would not want my credit information to be stolen. It violates my right to privacy.

The use of surveillance is even extending out to the art world. I find it really entertaining that it can be used to make things like GPS drawings. Its like watching a live performance movie of people which is quite entertaining.

Surveillance

I think surveillance is right for society because it can stop and reduce crime. Surveillance really helps detect and deter theft. Even in stores it is useful to record the movements of customers to improve their sales. For security purposes it is also a great tool for stopping people from trying to terrorize the country and enforce the law. It can convict suspected murders. I find that its a useful piece of technology that can track down people and events almost anywhere in the world. Although it does intrude with a person's civil rights, it can be a privacy issue. But the surveillance tracks people to make sure they are doing what they should be doing (like in their jobs.) The only thing wrong about it is if the information of your location gets in the wrong hands. People could find you and take advantage of you. It kind of reminds me of the movie called Eagle Eye where these people were called by this intelligent computer that wanted to overturn the government. They were forced to go on these missions and kill people, steal things, etc. or else they would get killed. Its creepy to know that they can be controlled like that. The advancement of surveillance technology is scary in some ways because of the power that people can have to steal your personal information for destructive purposes. Identity theft is a huge concern about the use of surveillance devices.

I feel that it can be a civil liberty infringement. It is hard to believe that this technology exists almost everywhere - through our own cell phones, printers, etc. I find it scary to know that several companies could gain access to my personal information, my movements, my history, etc. Our society is such a paranoid society and having this kind of technology builds more security to the nation, however it still adds paranoia about these devices tracking people down. I feel paranoid sometimes about other people having knowledge about my whereabouts, and the possibility of taking that knowledge to use against me. Usually I don't have a problem in places like stores because I understand that they use it for security. But having my information tracked on the computer and things like that, kind of makes me feel eery. I would not want my credit information to be stolen. It violates my right to privacy.

The use of surveillance is even extending out to the art world. I find it really entertaining that it can be used to make things like GPS drawings. Its like watching a live performance movie of people which is quite entertaining.

EAT

The Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), consisting of the 9 Evenings of Theatre & Performance, the Open Score was a fun looking experience. I love playing Tennis myself and I thought it was cool that they included art & technology to make a physical sport fun. Even the audience of 500 people had fun being "super stars" of the piece. I enjoyed watching the fun people had, even though today it probably wouldn't be as "wow-ing" because we are already used to this technology. These artists and engineers work very collaboratively together and they have such tremendous amount of imagination for their time. The way they think of these ideas are inspiring and very stimulating. I loved how they said that "art should have no direction" and you can be "open to infinite possibilities." They definitely look like they had a lot of fun in their time, it was like "opening up a window to a whole new world." Their surprising reactions about this new technology can be compared the to the amazement of the Ipods & Iphones of today. 

The Open Score was a rare moment and done in its time. As they said, when its over, its not over. You have it in your head for the rest of your life. I think the piece can be done again today but with more advancement in the technology or with additional features that are outside of our own vocabulary of today. Maybe then the piece would have a lot more interaction, more advanced lighting/projectory, better rackets... or maybe the rackets don't just trigger lighting now.. maybe it could signal to people's cell phones and do something crazy with it. However way it could be done, it is exiting to see artists and engineers push to be creative rather than remaining "practical" to their resources.

EAT

The Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.), consisting of the 9 Evenings of Theatre & Performance, the Open Score was a fun looking experience. I love playing Tennis myself and I thought it was cool that they included art & technology to make a physical sport fun. Even the audience of 500 people had fun being "super stars" of the piece. I enjoyed watching the fun people had, even though today it probably wouldn't be as "wow-ing" because we are already used to this technology. These artists and engineers work very collaboratively together and they have such tremendous amount of imagination for their time. The way they think of these ideas are inspiring and very stimulating. I loved how they said that "art should have no direction" and you can be "open to infinite possibilities." They definitely look like they had a lot of fun in their time, it was like "opening up a window to a whole new world." Their surprising reactions about this new technology can be compared the to the amazement of the Ipods & Iphones of today. 

The Open Score was a rare moment and done in its time. As they said, when its over, its not over. You have it in your head for the rest of your life. I think the piece can be done again today but with more advancement in the technology or with additional features that are outside of our own vocabulary of today. Maybe then the piece would have a lot more interaction, more advanced lighting/projectory, better rackets... or maybe the rackets don't just trigger lighting now.. maybe it could signal to people's cell phones and do something crazy with it. However way it could be done, it is exiting to see artists and engineers push to be creative rather than remaining "practical" to their resources.

What is a hacker?

After viewing the documentary my idea of a hacker has opened my mind about who they really are. I used to think hackers were just horrible people that wanted to break people's computers for fun, steal identities, or to steal confidential information etc. But after watching the video, even Net Artists are hackers because of their altering, subverting, repurposing, re-creating, redefining of whatever someone says you're supposed to do with something. Hackers are very experimental, innovative thinkers that have definitely pushed a new medium to develop new things. I have been so used to seeing them in only negative ways but after watching the video, I realized that without hackers then the creation of home computers would not have existed. Hacking led to these new computers, and additional features like making games, programs, and graphics. I never knew that it all started out with an era of "phone phreaking." Whistling and making sounds into phones to make free calls is very ingenious. Not only is hacking thought of as just an outlaw profession which can violate the right of privacy for many, but hacking is a profession that has greatly sparked the computer revolution. However, hackers are still a great threat to society because they can find information from people- which can be a powerful thing in my opinion. Although copying information from people isn't necessarily "stealing," I feel like it is wrong sometimes because the original doesn't belong to them. I hate it when people try to steal graphics or codes of my site layouts or something, and try to put it on their sites without my consent. But then again, I might be hypocritical when I take parts of other people's codes for my site too.. but I just alter it to fit my site. I usually give credit too.

As for "hacking," I am not sure how to define what I made as "hacking." I used to own my own forums/bbs, however you wanna call it. I would install codes provided by XMB Boards and I would customize everything myself. I was the Super Administrator and I had the power to alternate and change the board to my own liking. There were features you could add to the boards, besides the basic message boards, members lists, etc. Features such as "shops," theme/layout changes, additional live chat rooms, games, additional forum pages, portal systems, and random little changes for the boards. These features were called "hacks." Depending on the version of the XMB Board you had, they had different hack releases available for you to use for your own boards that people created, or you could create yourself. A friend and I created live chat rooms and additional pages for an old board, but we closed it down after a while of inactivity. It was really fun having people our age come to our boards and have contests, random topics and games, chatting, sharing pixel art & other art, and so much more.

The forum is still actually sorttaa up, but its been really dead and dying the past like 2 years. A lot of code is just messed up and gone because I haven't updated it in aggesss. I made our Forum a fun theme, "Bandaid BBS." Adminstrators/Moderators were like "Doctors/Nurses" while members were like "patients." It's such a shame it's down now though. You can see it here at a subdomain of my main site: http://bbbs.simplyaesthetic.net. (I warn you it looks really horrible now, and there are missing images and backgrounds and codes... ew. And it was reallly pink- at least the default theme was pink.)