Myspace AND BEYOND!!!!!!!!1

Many people go for MySpace as the best online community, but who could think it's the only interesting community? Some are themed for certain audiences, others operate solely through mobile blogging and some like There use 3-D Avatars to illustrate the visual side to the virtual community.

Here's the Article

I think its excellent to think that people are joining community sites that are not so mainstream. I mean, who couldn't resist thinking of creative ideas and methods for online communities!? The Internet needs variety and so do people's minds! So a hundred million zombies out there think MySpace is so fun and exciting but really the only community that has only grown and not improved in layout or usability. When I sign on to MySpace (yes, I'm a zombie too :O, but i won't bite) my profile page takes about a minute to load on a bandwidth connection! It's over packed with annoying advertisements and people that just want to be noticed so they can feel better about their status and social life. I totally agree that the majority of MySpace is only seeking shallow popularity to boost their ego.

Website Evaluation #10 - Cultural Surveillance

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	Url
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.com, yes
Who put this information here?	Andrew Hearst
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes. It is a personal/business website
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated Weekly, monthly
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How old is the material?	Most of the material is recent
Who wrote the information?	Andrew Hearst
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Pretty much
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	Yes
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	No
Why is this material here?	Modern Culture and Media Blog
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
Can I do a cross check?	Don't need to.
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	Only slightly
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Yes, Check related websites or news sites.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Yes
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	Most Likely.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	Yes
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Most of them.
Does the design complement the content?	No

Website Evaluation #9 - Tandem Activities

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	Url
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.de, yes
Who put this information here?	Ruhr-Universitat Bochum
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes. It is a website from a different country
How often is the site up-dated?	Yearly at least
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	No
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
How old is the material?	Can't Tell
Who wrote the information?	Someone or some people from the university
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	No
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	No
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	No
Why is this material here?	For internation communication purposes
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
Can I do a cross check?	Perhaps
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	No
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Check related websites
Is the information available anywhere else?	Perhaps
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	Don't know.
Does the site include links to other sites?	No
Is there any selection process for the links?	No
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	No
Are the links described?	No
Are the links all still active?	No
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	No
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	No
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	No
Does the design complement the content?	Perhaps.

Website Evaluation #8 - MySpace

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	Url
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.com, yes
Who put this information here?	Myspace Corporation
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes. It is a commerical website
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated Daily
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	No
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
How old is the material?	Most of the material is recent
Who wrote the information?	Myspace Corporation, Tom
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	No but they have an email form sheet.
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	Yes, cheap annoying advertisements
Why is this material here?	For internet community purposes
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
Can I do a cross check?	Don't need to.
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	Not about the company itself no, but the customers yes.
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Check related websites or news sites.
Is the information available anywhere else?	No
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	Don't know.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Most do.
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	Sometimes
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Not always.
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Sort of.
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	No
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Most of them.
Does the design complement the content?	No

Cyberspace Article #10 - Tolls on the internet?

URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702108.html

Date: 8th June 2006

Publication: Lawrence Lessig and Robert W. McChesney - Washington Times

Summary: The Congress are voting and deciding on whether the internet should have "network neutrality". This term means that all content and webpages over the internet are treated all the same and do not have certain websites sent at a higher speed than others. If network neutrality is not voted for by the Congress, the owners of internet wires/cables have the right to discriminate and exploit the system of speed and the free transition between provider and consumer. These "gatekeepers" claim they will serve to provide "garentee quality of delivery" by adding another link to the chain and ask consumers to pay to get to certain websites. The journalist is very much against this and mentioned grass-roots coalition. Visit: savetheinternet.com

Impact: Millions of people are against this process and structure of the internet. Unless I am mistaken from any bias in the article, this whole situation sounds ridiculous! Are telephone companies and internet servers really that greedy as to add another link in the "fastness" of internet broadband just so they can regulate a price on viewing certain websites??? If this was to happen, many people would be outraged and the lowness companies have to get to suck the money out of us.

Cyberspace Article #9 - 3 year old e-shops!

URL: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2491644

Date: September 26 2006

Publisher: Unknown publisher of ABC News

Summary: Jack Neal, at the age of three years old, bought a pink convertible car for $17, 000 from eBay. Apparently his mother left her account active and Jack, being a whizz at computer as all children are, managed to click all the right buttons to get his car. The seller, amused at this, did not sell this bid through.

Impact: Technology is easy for a three year old to understand. What is the world coming to!? There are so many eBay mishaps that somehow end up on the news quite regularly. Maybe Jack wanted to take Barbie out on a date in his new pink convertible.

A perfect song for this moment would be the eBay song from Weird Al Yankovic.

Cyberspace Article #8 - Internet Grammar

URL: http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/InternetGrammar.asp

Date: 10th March 2006

Publication: unknown author from Webopedia

Summary: As with every new technology, new jargon is developed. However the jargon over the internet are used with varying standardisations in different dictionary publications.

eg1- World Wide Web and the Internet are proper nouns yet many do not write them with capitals.

eg2 - website; Website; web site; Web site

eg3- online; on-line - depends on whether it's used as an adjective or adverb.

eg4- Email; email; e-mail; E-mail.

To get around this confusion in jargon, this article advices to be consistent with the style that you choose. The style of the internet in fact, invites a lack of standardization.

Impact: This article impacts just about anyone that cares about the standardizations of words of the internet. I'm not sure how many people there would be that would specifically be interested or be propelled to make sure what is the correct term. The last sentence of where the style of the internet is to have a lack of standardization, sounds like the internet is designed to be an informal and relative place. It shows how the communication on the internet is flexible and anything goes as long as each other understands. However this can commonly cause misunderstandings, I do not think many people will be confused about whether email should be Email or E-mail.

Articles Coming Soon

Hey everyone,
Sorry I've been absent from my blog because of all the work I've been doing. I haven't found much time for extra stuff in my life. But I'll get the rest of the website evaluations and articles in the next couple of days, so new posts will be up soon.

Sci-Fi Unoriginal Idea

While I was in school I suggested in a brainstorm of "future education" the idea of computer contact lenses. Apparently that idea has already hi-jaked before me.

Don't worry, it's a fake computer graphic. Check the link for the article on it.

Link to article.

Cyberspace Article #7 - The Web is Unflat

I found this article that was reviewed on another blog called "The End of Cyberspace" which was quite interesting and useful to read for my studies. I encourage you to scan through it and pick up some info.

Date: 1st August 2006

Publication: "nick" from Rough Type

Summary: Is the government really in control of the Internet? There are some that believe that because the Internet is so huge and vast, the government will never fully grasp power over this technology medium. This article asked whether the demographics of politics are really affecting the Internet. Is everyone really equal in power on the Internet? No.

An example is eBay - even though some people praise this website as a way of shopping without fraud or cheating, this could only be done with the government keeping a close eye on the transactions in its business.

The Internet may seem like the new technology that supports globalization, free of territorial boundaries, but the truth stands that in order for the this ever-growing communication system to exist without fraud and cheaters is to control with the law and authorities. The problem with this however is if the fraud and cheaters are found in the control. That's when the Internet become chaotic in its peaks and troughs in power.

Impact:
This divides people's beliefs about the freedom of the internet. It asks us what is freedom on the internet? Is it to be good and obey the regulations of terms and use when signing up for a website? Or is freedom on the internet the ability to have everyone downloadable on the internet free? Is it to have the ability to have access to all or any information on the internet and no privacy?

In my opinion, politics are usually confusing and untrustable. So I'm not going to even try to answer these questions. Some debates should be left for those who want to argue with no solution or turning point.

Website Evaluation #7 - Defective By Design

This is hilarious!

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://defectivebydesign.org/en/node
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.org, yes
Who put this information here?	Free Software Foundation
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes. It is a website promoting an opinion.
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated Daily, however unsure.
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
How old is the material?	Most of the material is recent
Who wrote the information?	Free Software Foundation Inc.
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	No but they have an email form sheet.
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	Yes
Why is this material here?	To promote the logic of freedom in choice of software provided from Apple.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes, through a link
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	Yes, there is no perspective of reasoning from Apple.
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes, it's opinions are slightly one-sided.
Can I do a cross check?	Check out the purchasing regulations for iTunes and iPods.
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	No
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Check related websites.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Perhaps - there are articles from other websites that were reporting their moves.
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	From not that I know of.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	No, they are organised according to how recent they are.
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes.
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	No
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Most of them.
Does the design complement the content?	Yes

Website Evaluation #6 - GFX Artist

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://www.gfxartist.com/
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.com, No
Who put this information here?	Commerical Organisation
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Only Slightly - There will just be a few ads. in your face and that would be it.
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated Daily
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
How old is the material?	Most of the material is relatively new
Who wrote the information?	The "GFX Team" and users
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	Yes
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	No
Why is this material here?	To provide an online artist community.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes, through a link
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Can I do a cross check?	There are other artist communities on the internet but there is not really a need to cross check.
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	No
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Check related websites.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Most Likely, might be easiest to ask someone who is very artistic.
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	No, unless you want to.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Some are. I tried some tutorial links that don't work.
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes, but that is required in this website.
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes, the fonts in the menu is quite small though.
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	Yes
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Most of them.
Does the design complement the content?	Yes

Website Evaluation #5 - Wikipedia

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.org - Yes
Who put this information here?	Special Interest Group
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated Daily
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How old is the material?	Most of the material is relatively new
Who wrote the information?	"Wikipedians" - both moderators and subscribers
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	Yes
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	Yes
Why is this material here?	To provide information for the readers, from the readers.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes, through a link
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	Yes
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	The matter of whether the information on Wikipedia is accurate is very sketchy. There have been debates about this issue and Wikipedia believes it's method is reasonable.
Can I do a cross check?	Other resources anywhere
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	Yes
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Books and other websites are the first places I'll look to to verify the information's accuracy.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Encyclopedias On the Internet.
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	Maybe, but it's very conveinient to just look it up on this website.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	No, but most are and the ones that are not are correctly quickly.
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	In some places, but not all.
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes, but it is slightly cluttered, and to read through it the info you want to read sometimes takes paitience.
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	Yes
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Yes
Does the design complement the content?	Yes

Website Evaluation #4 - Dickson College

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://www.dicksonc.act.edu.au/
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.edu - Yes
Who put this information here?	Educational Institution
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated weekly
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How old is the material?	Updated within this the year
Who wrote the information?	Dickson College
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	Yes
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	No
Why is this material here?	To help the College's community and to provide information for others about DC.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	Yes
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Can I do a cross check?	Wikipedia?
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	No
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Going to the actual school.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Yes, like Canberra Connect Website
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	No
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	No
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes, perhaps a instruction like "roll mouse over menu to find links" would be helpful.
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	No
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Yes
Does the design complement the content?	Yes

Website Evaluation #3 - Associated Content

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://www.associatedcontent.com/
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.com - Yes
Who put this information here?	Commerical organisation
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated daily
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed?	No
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	No
How old is the material?	Updated in different areas
Who wrote the information?	The community and company on the website.
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s e-mail address included?	Yes, several
Is there any other way of identifying the author?	Yes, there are descriptions of the board of directors
If you can’t identify the writer does this have any effect on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	Yes
Why is this material here?	To build a general community of publishers from different backgrounds and to enhance their skills in presenting their content over the internet.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	No, but it has a small link to a place that describes its purpose
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Can I do a cross check?	Don't need one.
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	There are some potientials for identity fraud, but these users are experts in their materia.
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	-
Is the information available anywhere else?	There are probably other communities out there like this website.
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	-
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	Yes
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	Yes
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes, if you have a slow computer.
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes, but very cluttered and full.
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	Yes
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Yes
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Yes
Does the design complement the content?	Yes

Website Evaluation #2 - Stir

What web browser are you using?	Explorer
Does the site suggest that it is better viewed with one kind of web browser in particular?	No
What is the URL of the Web page you are evaluating?	http://stir.org.au/stir/
Have a look at the domain name of the URL. How does the fact that the site is an .edu; .com; .gov; or .org influence your opinions about the site?	.org - Yes
Who put this information here?	Special interest group
Does the source of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How often is the site up-dated?	Updated weekly
Can you tell when was the last time particular page/section was changed	Yes
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
How old is the material?	Nine days old
Does the currency of the information have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	Yes
Who wrote the information?	Someone affiliated with World Vision Australia
Is the author’s signature on the page?	Yes
Is the author’s	Yes
Is there any other way of identifying the author	Yes
If you can’t identify	-
Does the institutional affiliation have any effect on your judgement about this site.?	Yes
Why is this material here?	Public Service - To support a youth community that want to help others less fortunate in third world countries.
Is the purpose of this page indicated clearly in a prominent place?	No, but it has a small link to a place that describes its purpose
Is there any evident bias in the information at this site?	No
Does the reason for this have any influence on your judgement about the usefulness of this site?	-
Can I do a cross check?	Yes
Do I have any doubts about the accuracy of the material?	No
If so, is there any way I can cross-check the accuracy of the information?	Other Internet Material etc.
Is the information available anywhere else?	Yes
Would it have been easier to get the information in some other way?	Depends on the target audience.
Does the site include links to other sites?	Yes
Is there any selection process for the links?	No
Are the links organised (i.e. by subject category)?	No
Are the links described?	Yes
Are the links all still active?	Yes
Do the links seem relevant to the subject of the web page?	Yes
Is the page only viewable by a specific browser or release of browser?	No
Is the site often busy and difficult to access?	No
Does the page download in a reasonable time?	Yes
Does it include any large graphics or files which take a long time to download?	Yes
Is it organised in a way that makes it easy to navigate?	Yes
Are the navigational links clear?	Yes
Do you have to scroll through the entire document to find information you want?	No
Is there any provision for searching the site?	Yes
Is the page viewable by a text-based browser only?	Don't Know
Do all the graphics have a text explanation?	Yes
Does the design complement the content?	Indeed Yes!

Cyberspace Article #6 - Plagiarism Strikes Blog World

Date - 8th May 2006

Publication - Maura Welch, The Boston Globe

Summary
This article explains a disheartening concern in the Blogosphere of the Internet. Copying other people's work has become as instant as a click; and since there are over 38 million blogs on the Internet, plagiarism has become a nasty way to wreck someone's enjoyable time writing a blog. As described through Jonathan and Beth's experience of stolen identities, plagiarism threatens people who attract many readers to their blogs, while maintaining a subtle status in the Blogosphere. These people that plagiarise are just like six-year-olds in a school play ground trying to exaggerate stories to impress their friends, says Michael Zimmer, a doctoral candidate of the New York University. This article suggests to put a clear copyright to protect blog posts from further plagiarism. "Copyscape" is also mentioned as a good freeware program that can identify word for word copying off the Internet. Additionally, because the Blogosphere is fast and speedy at finding copies, plagiarism can be put to a halt once the website address is discovered.

Impact
Well this impacts just about everyone that write on the Internet. I wanted to do my oral presentation on plagiarism, rather than fraud. Maybe I got mixed up with those meanings. Anyway, sometimes we need to think about the downsides to the Internet. The Internet is convenient to all of us because of it's instant speed in communication, but also the instant speed to plagiarism, flaming, hacking, bullying and false information. Is there any way at all that we can avoid these things and without being in fear of someone mistreating the information of ourselves that we post on the Internet? No - where there's a will, there's a way. Maybe we have to accept the situation. Otherwise we have to either - over secure our computer and passwords to the point of making our computer too slow or forgetting a password to access a website OR not blog on the Internet at all.

Cyberspace Article #5 - Windows Vista

Date: 25th of July 2005

Publication: John C. Dvorak - PC Magazine

Summary:
For some time now, people have known that Microsoft has made a newer operating system since Windows XP. The computing community however was not so impressed with what Microsoft has "new" in store for the world; there was nothing ground-breaking for them anymore in this business. This author goes on explaining, in an almost biast form, how the new OS "Vista" is very "distant" from what it claims to be. Dvorak claims the reason of this is because Microsoft has no competition and it becoming lazy with it's progress.
He then goes on in this article with other OS company opinions:

Apple - Vista has the potiential, but we all know Macs are better.

Microsoft - I can't survive on Windows anymore, but XBox will put the pennies in the piggy bank.

Linux/Apache - We're so much hotter than Microsoft right now with MySQL, PHP and LAMP.

Google - I am the Internet Application King! Now all I need is MSN..

He then concluded on bombarding statements of the potientials of powerplay each of these companies have in producing much better OS than Microsoft. It was even suggested that Google should start it's own OS with Linux. Whatever will happen, it sounds like the competition between these corporations will be very tough.

What's so good about Vista anyway?

Impact:
This computer corporation battle has enough power to effect everyone all over the world. Personally I find the joining of corporations very threatening. There is so much power behind these corporations, and it makes me shudder just to think about one massive corporation controlling the whole world. The world is their oyster, but if they are going to forcefully open it with a knife, take out the edible part and eat it whole and throw away the precious pearl inside?

Have you ever seen the documentary Michael Moore did on Corporations? That has influenced my opinion about corporations, and it makes me feel very disgusted at the way the power is not controlled with these insensitive "persons" (ie - any corporation).

Cyberspace Article #4 - Celebrity Viruses

Date - June 20, 2005
Publication - CNNMoney.com

Summary of Article
Although this article was made over a year ago, the report described still rings true today as it did last year and the year before. Many hackers/spammers are finding new and cunning ways to lure people into opening emails with viruses. This article briefly reports on the most common ways they entice people to open emails from unknown email addresses - with covering the trap with the most popular and talked about people of America.
Popular names include:

• Britney Spears
• Jennifer Lopez
• Shakira
• Osama Bin Laden
• Michael Jackson
• Bill Clinton
• Anna Kournikova
• Paris Hilton
• Pamela Anderson

Spammers and hackers are known to post to lists and lists of email addresses with phony news events of world-wide known people as these to lure people in, like any deviant person would to a small innocent child. An example the article used was posting emails about Michael Jackson committing attempted suicide just before the final Jury's final charges about Michael's child molestation scandal. If new information like this is posted all around the news for public viewing on a mass scale, wouldn't topics straight of the news interest just about everyone on the internet? That's what spammers ask themselves. And so that's what people have to be careful about when viewing email. Here are some of my tips in avoiding virus:

• Have at least one anti-virus on your computer and one anti-virus checker on your email. Scan your computer at least once a fortnight or more - depending on how many hours you spend on the net.
• Don't subscribe to websites that don't seem trustworthy or ask if you want to subscribe to outside sources to the website. If the website has too many advertisements, pop-ups or looks unprofessional or untidy, don't send your email address to any part of it's data without deciding carefully whether you trust it or not.
• Use common sense - Don't open emails when the senders email address doesn't make any literate sense. For example, if the sender is "dl9hentlwlrk1354bwlb40@elelkhrk30539jn.com" with the subject "Hot Hot Girls", don't open the email at all!!! Curiousity killed the cat! Delete that spam!
• Use your block filter on your junk folder. I know sometimes the settings can make you miss a friend's email that you haven't saved in your contacts yet, but it's worth having a filter that gets rid of the junk you want to get rid of. Block the email addresses as well.
  

Impact On Society
Well I already explained how to protect yourself from the impact. Basically this tells society to get into shape with what to look out for with viruses on emails. In fact it uses a shock factor and attraction factor by using Britney Spears as a way to interest the reader. The article has a picture of Britney Spears when none of what the article talks about affects the way Britney looks or acts at all, in fact if you really thought about it, this article is using the same technique as a hacker would - sneakily attract the reader with a popular name then once it is opened the article contains information completely different. How ironic is that?

>Tracking Life Online
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2005/online.evolution/

This here is interesting information to compare while I was looking around the CNN website for something good for this article. If you look at most of those names up there, they are quite similar to the top 10 list of the names hackers and spammers use. What does this comparison say about society? Are we all the enticers or are we the enticed? What I think is that both of these top 10 lists reflect what we see in mainstream popularity - status of who we are and who we are better than. Is there really any need to keep up to date on the most juiciest updates on the news or gossip? Is it really important to have all the latest mp3's or know the more than the other person usually has knowledge on? Is it really important to feel better or more important than the next person in line?

Cyberspace Article #3 - Bushwalkers Need Mobiles

This is one of the articles I did in class to save time for doing one at home. I tried to write it as neat as possible, I appologise if it's hard to read some words or a wording error. This article isn't so much about the internet, but it does have an impact on society's expansion in computer technology. For example - Imagine when compact computers become a practical size in the amount of data it carries and the physical size that will be useable for everyone to use. It doesn't seem so far away when considering the wide-spread technology of iPods, mp3 players, play stations, USBs and notepad phones. But what about the rising phenomenons in emergency technology?
Telstra should have mobile phone towers that cover the areas of metropolitan areas but I can't even understand one sentence someone says to me on my mobile when I'm at home because I live in a new area of the city. My perception of Telstra is that its offers are not so reliable as it claims to be, the corporation is constantly looking for business in the most irritating way (foreign employees calling up on weekends asking if we want to switch to Telstra) and bludgers who go on company holidays to get drunk every night.

Where's the improvement in emergency communication technology in that?

I included a link to a website with more information on the advantages and disadvantages plus more advise on bushing with a mobile at hand. Click the title to read it.
Here's also another link containing a recent article about emergency communication technology. Interestingly, it mentions how GPS-enabled phones can make portable phones easier to locate because the transmission of the location data is faster. The downside is that this acticle is reviewing improvements in technology in America, when it's an Australian website. That's pretty sad.
<http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=33073>