Delicious Bookmarks

I never really used Delicious before this assignment but I feel it's an excellent method for storing my favorite information from various websites, tracking hot topics, and discovering new sites. This is definitely a form of “collective intelligence”, because it is constantly adding, reviewing, and filtering new information from users. These users help save time because they really minimize the amount of junk to sort through with the help of their linked bookmarks! I also liked it because it become a centralized management system for information. There are a number of useful features I liked as well. 

1. Firefox extension
2. keyword searching
3. Google Reader bookmark
4. Planning (grocery shopping, movies, trips)

However, as much as I liked it, for some reason I kept thinking of Pinterest. I really felt like in some way this service was no match to Pinterest's. I don't really use bookmarks all that often anymore because I used to use them as a means to plan and organize my life. So I'm not quite sure if I find this useful. I much rather use Pinterest :-)

-Gina

Flickr Assignment

I posted 3 pictures depicting some of my favorite concepts that Web 2.0 offers us.

1. Marines @Iwo Jima - Collaboration (Social Media)
2. Twitter (Mashup)
3. Web 2.0 Enterprise (The Whole Shebang)

You can find my pictures here! 


I picked these because I feel they best describe what Web 2.0 means - they harness collective intelligence! Collaboration is the epitome of harnessing user information and is what makes Web 2.0 so prosperous. However, even though collaboration is what creates and defines the information, mashups are what make it available as a valuable data source. Twitter is amazing really. It's a microblogging service and one would wonder its usefulness, but it's been proven very very useful actually. Take this Time article for instance. The gist of the article is that although Twitter is mostly used as a quick means to vent or spread news to your friends, it has the potential to spread short bursts of real time information on the latest, newest information occurring around the world! During the 2009 Iran protests, Twitter made its world-wide debut, it delivered street-level information in real time. That has so much potential, it's kind of frightening.


So I felt Flickr was very user friendly. I didn't feel the tutorials were really necessary but they did help. I did like to see that Flickr is compatible with iPhoto via third party app. I may end up looking into that if I start using Flickr more often. Right now I use other software to edit and manage my pictures. There were a lot of tags that were similar to the ones I used for each picture but the one with the lease similar tags was definitely the picture of the Marines @Iwo Jima. I used that one to depict collaboration because I feel this is the essence of the word. I feel this every time I lay eyes on it.   


-Gina

GNU Free Call/SIP Witch and Skype, Free Call Will be AMAZING!

I decided to compare the GNU Telephony’s Free Call which is open source software that offers secure voice over internet protocol communications; this means it offers free internet phone calls for use by the general public. It will be similar to the well-known Skype. So I said “it will be” and there’s a reason for that – its still in the development phase. Even though it’s still not ready for prime time, I was able to download their SIP Witch, which is basically what Free Call will be based on. SIP stands for Session Initiation Protocol and it basically creates, manages, and terminates call sessions during its session (on the Internet).  SIP Witch has call forwarding, call distribution, holding, and call transfers. With SIP, the Witch provides secure telephone extensions for making calls over the Internet, and is an intercept/decrypt-free peer-to-peer audio and video program.

Ok so eventually, when Free Call is off and running, it will offer essential utility in public service by enabling the continuation of emergency services without requiring existing communication infrastructure. That is amazing! So I’ll be able to use Free Call (on my cell phone) during a crazy emergency, like during the crazy random earthquake we had in Northern Virginia last year.

This intercept/decrypt-free extension is a major milestone for the GNU Free Call team because Skype is surrounded by a wealth of major security concerns! But lots of people, like me, use Skype! So does this mean my computer is at risk when I use it? Probably.  While Skype encrypts users' sessions, unauthorized individuals can monitor call initiation. This topic even warrants a wiki page! A few years ago security flaws were discovered and patched. Those flaws made it possible for hackers to run hostile code on computers running vulnerable versions of the program. While these problems were fixed, no one still really knows how safe Skype is to use, especially since the source code is closed to the public. With open source software, one could argue there is at least some kind of accountability – especially when it comes to security! 

So while I really couldn’t test Free Call, I was really impressed by the tool’s potential. Based on my readings, it appears Free Call will greatly surpass Skype because it will offer users a more secure and reliable telephone service that will always be available, free of unwanted listeners!  And did I mention, IT'S FREE people.

Click here for more information on the GNU Free Call Project.

Firefox and Chrome = Apples and Oranges, Well Not Really.

Ok for the browser comparison I chose Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome web browsers. Firefox is an open-source product whereas Chrome is a closed source browser based on Chromium. Sooo…which is better? Well, according to an article from the website, Lifehacker, the answer to that question depends a lot on the type of Operating System and it’s easiest to separate the answer for Windows and Mac users. Regardless, the gist of the article claims that Chrome beats out Firefox in most browser performance tests. But most browsers actually perform really well these days, so the fact that Chrome beat out Firefox doesn't mean it’s extremely slow—it just means that compared to Chrome, it's not the fastest.

Ok so what’s the deal then? Why do I (for example) keep going back to Firefox, even though a) I’m using Safari to type this post..hehe.. and b) I’ve used Chrome and still prefer Firefox? Well, I think my main reason for preferring Firefox over Chrome over Safari, is because of all the free extension support it gets! I swear, Firefox has a great extension community when compared to all other browsers. Extensions add functionality to the browser and enhance the user interface in a way that is not directly related to the viewable content of Web pages...it's the stuff that gives us bookmark toolbars, Pinterest browser pins, etc.

I think the real difference is if a person is used to Firefox’s obscure extensions, chances are they may not be able to find replacements for everything in Chrome. But if they only use a few of them, then the transition to Chrome would probably be a little easier!

Once again I feel like the customization and community support that open source products have make them win over users and gain wide acceptance. I’ve used Internet Explorer (mostly at work), Safari, Thunderbird, Netscape, and Firefox and I still prefer the latter! Hands down. 

Gimp VS Photoshop...Fight of the Picture Tools!

Ok so I chose two photo-editing and image enhancement software tools: GIMP and Adobe's Photoshop. GIMP, or GNU Image Manipulation Program, can be easily compared to the widely known Adobe Photoshop. Aside from cost, GIMP and Photoshop are very similar. However, although there is a sizeable market for Photoshop, I read somewhere that GIMP users swear by the scope and wide-ranging flexibility that it offers them. I think I agree. While I’ve used GIMP more that Photoshop (I've used GIMP for 2 years now and I just downloaded Photoshop this week) I honestly prefer GIMP because I think it’s more than an ‘image manipulation’ tool, it’s very versatile, and it’s free! 

I think the best feature that GIMP can offer is its customization – which is the epitome of the open software movement.  With GIMP, users can develop personalized scripts and commands that can render the user’s desired effect. This is mostly for image layers and enhancements. All one has to do is take the time to figure out what they desire, look up similar effects online, and bam! The user can customize their tool and image at the same time. This is genius, and it’s free. 

Now, I’m not saying Photoshop doesn’t offer the same thing. Actually, it does – but at a price. Photoshop charges for every object layer and enhancement (or action) based on your desired look. Some of these are free, like red-eye removal.  Some well-known photography schools like the Digital Photography School online even offer free actions; however, more advanced layers and actions are not free.

One other feature that I forgot to mention is that GIMP is a bit more user friendly than Photoshop. I’ll admit, I felt pretty awkward using both tools at first, but I found that the more I used GIMP the more I wanted to learn how to use it. I don’t recall feeling the same way about Photoshop. I also felt like GIMP had more high-performance features like a better gradient tool and definitely a better ink tool. GIMP had drag handles for both rectangle/ellipse select tools, which made it a bit more comfortable to use than Photoshop. GIMP definitely made for quicker and more intuitive use.

Before I go on, the gradient tool allows you to create nice color fill with smooth color changing effects. The ink tool creates the simulation of an ink pen with a controllable nib to paint solid brush strokes which allows you to create intricate drawings. I really like this inking tutorial.

Gradient Tool Example - see the different colors in the sky and how well they blend together? That's what the tool can do.

So, I'm not saying Photoshop is not good as a technical tool. It is, but the price tag is obscene. The only reason I was able to get access to Photoshop is because I downloaded the free trial. Otherwise, I would NOT have purchased it and I would have been forced to pick other tools to compare...bummer! Anyhow, I feel like GIMP wins hands down because it’s very similar to Photoshop, it’s versatile where Photoshop is not, and most importantly it’s free. I can do basically the same thing with both programs at no charge. Sign me up!

TechCrunch! Nom Nom Nom Nom...

So this blog is a little much for me. I think it's because there's A LOT of information in this one and it looks a bit disorganized. I felt a little overwhelmed while reading the articles. The good thing is that most of the articles are non too tech geeky for me and I was able to understand and relate to some of the posts. 

The first article on this blog caught my eye. The title was this: "Study: Hispanic Smartphone Owners Want Mobile Shopping Apps To Be Social." Now, this caught my eye because 1) I'm Hispanic and 2) I have a smartphone user! So naturally, I was interested in what this study was about. It claims that Hispanic users prefer to shop with friends and family members instead of shopping by themselves. I think I agree with this! Nowadays whenever I do go shopping it's usually by myself. This is mainly because one of us has to stay and watch our little 1-year-old gremlin. If my husband and I find ourselves at the mall, we don't end up buying much because we're so focused on entertaining her! So when I do go shopping by myself, I usually end up feeling odd and a little out of place. I think this is because I miss having that second person with me! 

The main point of this article is that mobile shopping apps currently ignore users that want more of a social aspect to shopping! I wonder how this affects online mobile shopping apps like Amazon, Overstock,  and eBay? We shall see! You can find the full article here.

Overall, I somewhat enjoyed this blog but I feel it's lacking in style - I think it's too plain looking and disorganized to keep me interested....Side note, it took FOREVER to load in my browser!


- Gina

Mashable...A bunch of random neat gadgets.

So I really enjoyed reading the articles on this blog. One of my favorites was from a week ago, Wednesday April 4. It was on Google's new Project Glass which is basically an amazing concept. The Google engineering team (Google X Lab) is developing a set of glasses with augmented reality. This means the user can view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by a computer. It would allow us to view the weather, get phone calls, play video games, and more! All through our glasses as we're doing something else. If you ask me, that's kind of crazy and creepy all at the same time. 

Another article talks about Pinterest, one of my new favorites sites! This website (also an iPhone app) is a virtual "pinboard" that allows users to "pin" things they find interesting to an unlimited number of pinboards in their account. For example, I have a number of different boards. I have one for nail art, clothing, and cooking recipes. I use this to plan out weekly meals and my next shopping mall trip. The article here talks about how teachers can "...organize lesson plans, distribute curricula, collaborate with other faculty, and even encourage student participation." This is a neat concept that makes me wonder if our teachers will start using it. 

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this blog and I might even add it to my Google Reader account! I hope you guys enjoyed it as well.

-Gina

Hello class! I chose TechCrunch and Mashable for this assignment.  I started reading GigaOm but that got a little too tech geeky for my taste! But so far I really like the material the bloggers write about in each of these blogs. They write a lot of interesting articles in them. Hope you guys enjoy this assignment as much as I am.