MULTImedia!!!
All of the concepts presented this week in lecture were clear. I am a multimedia journalist. Let's face it, every journalist today must be, or will be in the future. Especially the photographers. I am photojournalist first and foremost, however, I have to be adept at videography, audio and putting journalistic multimedia packages together for the Web. The College of Journalism and Communications just recently just opened its multimedia portal for students called CMIR.
I normally upload my photographs in iPhoto, however I want to get Aperture and I have heard great reviews on Adobe Bridge as well. So, I may switch over. I edit in Adobe Photoshop, which you can buy as a student and get the student discount. The format I mainly use is jpg. Even though it is a lossy format, which compresses the image and loses a little bit of data every time, it is still the standard format in the photojournalistic world.
For audio Audacity is a great, free software program. I have used it many times to edit audio for slideshows, to make recordings and to produce some great audio for my multimedia projects.
In video I am the least proficient, so it was interesting to learn about the inter-frame compression. This is a lossy format that transfers only the moving data from frame to frame. It is quite efficient because it does not transfer that static pixels. If there is a stationary object, and someone jumping around. The pixels are not moving around the stationary object so they are not transferred but the jumper is. It is called macroblocked. Only one block of moving data is transmitted. This helps in sending compressed videos.
Also, the standard now is to save your videos with the H.264 format so that it can be viewed more easily on mobile devices. Let's face it, we are a mobile world and businesses are mobile as well. So, you must cater to clients and partners who want to view your videos with ease.
Businesses rely on multimedia heavily. If it is only a slideshow on their web site or a commercial slot in the SuperBowl multimedia represents a company in today's world. It shows who they are, it can demonstrate a product, aid in a presentation, land that giant client or allow them to expand their markets.
The journalistic world relies on multimedia now more than ever. Our world is compressed just like the photos, video and audio because of the way we share things through multimedia. Think if the news didn't use multimedia. We would still be sitting down every morning to go through the print newspaper. Multimedia enhances our productivity and allows us to reach across the globe.
The Video above demonstrates what multimedia is. You have probably already watched it, but I thought it was useful to demonstrate all the amazing things that can come out of just photos, video and audio.
Below is some of my multimedia.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Week 5 Clear: Excel at Excel
This is a screen shot from About.com describing step-by-step how to do a logical function. About.com has lists of tutorials and steps to many functions from engineering to finance to count functions.
EXCEL!!
A function in Excel is a mathematical formula that quantifies large groups of numbers or whatever are in the cells (could be text). The function can be modified relatively or absolutely for the other cells giving the person control of their data. Functions range from basic count functions, date functions, to stats and financial functions.
The functions allows the business person to come to conclusions about the mass of data that is laid out in the spreadsheet. Depending on the function the businesswoman/man can achieve their goals of the quarter, for sales, for pleasing the customer through statistics, or just keeping a firm grasp on where they are at financially so she or he knows when to invest and when to wait out a recession let's say.
The functions in Excel allows business people to function optimally in their environments.
It provides essential and interesting data if you take the time to learn how to use them.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week 4 Clear: Application Software
In the Clouds ...
...don't get lost in them, use them.
The concept I found the most interesting and clear was web-based software. Yes, everyone uses packaged software and some of it is discounted for students, but realistically more often than not it is bootlegged. For example, Adobe Creative Suite encompasses InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. These are applications that most students from the College of Journalism use constantly, therefore for the their own comfort they transfer it onto their computer from another and essentially break the EULA agreement (recently some people are having a difficult time with Rosetta interacting with the bootlegged copies because they have updated their computer). It happens all the time, especially because Adobe is constantly updating itself once every year or two years if not sooner.
So, I think that web-based software applications are more accessible for businesses and students. Especially students graduate and decide to start their own businesses. They can no longer get away with using a fake serial number to boot up the software, therefore, in the cloud services allows them to take things global, manage it from anywhere, cut out the cost of systems of engineers and run successfully globally.
Here is a link that describes "the clouds" business. The media has used the phrase so often it has become a household description of what web-based software is that has info on remote servers.
...don't get lost in them, use them.
The concept I found the most interesting and clear was web-based software. Yes, everyone uses packaged software and some of it is discounted for students, but realistically more often than not it is bootlegged. For example, Adobe Creative Suite encompasses InDesign, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. These are applications that most students from the College of Journalism use constantly, therefore for the their own comfort they transfer it onto their computer from another and essentially break the EULA agreement (recently some people are having a difficult time with Rosetta interacting with the bootlegged copies because they have updated their computer). It happens all the time, especially because Adobe is constantly updating itself once every year or two years if not sooner.
So, I think that web-based software applications are more accessible for businesses and students. Especially students graduate and decide to start their own businesses. They can no longer get away with using a fake serial number to boot up the software, therefore, in the cloud services allows them to take things global, manage it from anywhere, cut out the cost of systems of engineers and run successfully globally.
Here is a link that describes "the clouds" business. The media has used the phrase so often it has become a household description of what web-based software is that has info on remote servers.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Week 3 Clear
The Clock is Ticking:
One of the most interesting things about this week was the parts of the computer section in the personal computer videos. Personally, I focused on software in all my computer life rather than the hardware behind it. The Central Processing Unit was the most interesting part I think in it's capabilities and functioning speed.
The CPU is the "computer's brain," but computers can have GPUs, Graphics Processing Unit, so it is not the one and only. The CPU performs computations based on clock speed. Clock speed is a signal that beats on a regular basis, like your heart. The clock speed can be a repetitive signal a billion times a second. And if you increase the clock speed on the computer then you can increase the amount of work that gets done. The CPU can have different processing cores such as dual, quad or Intel's turbo boost all on the same chip. So, multiple units on one core chip. Compare CPUs in a chart updated daily!
The CPU has a little space on the chip to house a cache, which is ultra fast memory, ready to use at any moment by the computer when it encounters frequently used memory or information. So, less time for you to wait on the CPU and the constant clock.
The CPU is like a clock, it has multiple parts that all synchronize together to maintain a machine for a person to utilize.
Let's get down to business:
In the business world, time is money. Both are valuable. Therefore choosing the right computers for your business or the business you work for is extremely important. You can improve productivity while reducing the time it takes, and therefore cost. Choosing the right CPU to fit the businesses needs is important. You have to weigh increased speed vs. the heat it gives off and how many cores will get the job done for the business.
Computers are an asset that all businesses use and need. It is important to understand them and utilize them correctly to maximize profit.
Video - This video describes how to fix your Xbox via the GPU and CPU. Xboxes are computers also, and some people may use them for their businesses. Gamers can make profit and depend on their systems to work properly. So enjoy!
One of the most interesting things about this week was the parts of the computer section in the personal computer videos. Personally, I focused on software in all my computer life rather than the hardware behind it. The Central Processing Unit was the most interesting part I think in it's capabilities and functioning speed.
The CPU is the "computer's brain," but computers can have GPUs, Graphics Processing Unit, so it is not the one and only. The CPU performs computations based on clock speed. Clock speed is a signal that beats on a regular basis, like your heart. The clock speed can be a repetitive signal a billion times a second. And if you increase the clock speed on the computer then you can increase the amount of work that gets done. The CPU can have different processing cores such as dual, quad or Intel's turbo boost all on the same chip. So, multiple units on one core chip. Compare CPUs in a chart updated daily!
The CPU has a little space on the chip to house a cache, which is ultra fast memory, ready to use at any moment by the computer when it encounters frequently used memory or information. So, less time for you to wait on the CPU and the constant clock.
The CPU is like a clock, it has multiple parts that all synchronize together to maintain a machine for a person to utilize.
Let's get down to business:
In the business world, time is money. Both are valuable. Therefore choosing the right computers for your business or the business you work for is extremely important. You can improve productivity while reducing the time it takes, and therefore cost. Choosing the right CPU to fit the businesses needs is important. You have to weigh increased speed vs. the heat it gives off and how many cores will get the job done for the business.
Computers are an asset that all businesses use and need. It is important to understand them and utilize them correctly to maximize profit.
Video - This video describes how to fix your Xbox via the GPU and CPU. Xboxes are computers also, and some people may use them for their businesses. Gamers can make profit and depend on their systems to work properly. So enjoy!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Week 1: Clear
Copyright
It sounds daunting and should b bolded in red, however it is a simple concept to grasp. The laws surrounding it can be complex, but copyright in itself is the protection of the author and his or her work. U.S. copyright laws protect most forms of creative expression. Meaning books, music, photographs, video, etc. are all protected under a copyright. In order to use someone else's work you must get permission in writing, be the owner flat out or get it in a public domain. Take Flickr, a photo database online, for example, it has several copyright restriction categories. Some are public domain and can be used by everyone. But some photographs cannot be manipulated and some photographer require an attributed link if their work is shown. For artists and owners of creative expression copyright is the only thing that validates their work in the legal realm. It is a respect for their intellectual property to follow the copyright laws and use their work accordingly.
Business purposes:
Copyright is extremely important in business to protect their product or the products of others. Also, because of one employees mistake the business owner does not want to get sued for copyright infringement. In order to profit from a business, the product has to be protected. One of those ways is making sure copyright infringement does not take place. Business thrives off of creative expression and incentive and strict copyright laws gives way to both of these things.
Try This:
This is a website that shows you how to embed the copyright symbol in your images, graphics, etc. So when someone decides not to follow these rules, still protect your creative expressions!
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