Red Queens and Increasing Returns

Red Queens and Increasing Returns

When you decided to obtain a DVD for your science fiction assignment in Module 4, where did you go to find a movie based on a Philip K. Dick book? Did you rent or purchase a DVD, or did you view it digitally on your computer using Netflix or a similar vendor of video-on-demand?

The video I chose was Total Recall and I had to rent it from Netflix.  We have belonged to Netflix for the past 2 years.  We pay a small monthly fee and are allowed five computers to access our account.  This has helped my son who is away at college and he and his roommate do not have to pay for cable as they watch everything online and all movies.  I have tried the Red Box a couple of times especially for the games, which are only three dollars versus five dollars at Block Buster. 

Is the current competition between DVDs and video-on-demand an example of increasing returns or Red Queens? Justify your response with sound reasoning and specific examples.

From Dr. Thornburg, when two entities are vying for the same cause, it can be considered a Red Queens (Thornburg, 2008).  One reason is they are trying to keep up with the demands of the consumers.  Netflix is giving the video rental stores a run for their money as they are continually giving deals and such, but since the Red Box has come out, even the video stores are buying in to this idea as Block Buster has their own “blue box”. 

Where do you think DVDs and video-on-demand are on the four criteria of McLuhan’s tetrad?

For me, I have watched shows on my computer and on my television.  As for me, I prefer watching on my television, maybe I am still old school, but I have trouble seeing everything I want to on my computer screen. 

Thornburg, D. (2008c). Red Queens, butterflies, and strange attractors: Imperfect lenses into emergent technologies. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Module 4

How is Second Life a disruptive technology?

According to Dr. Clayton Christensen, a disruptive technology is a new technology that displaces an established technology.  According to Dr. Thornburg, Second Life does seem to come from virtually nowhere. 

What technology or innovation did it displace?

I can see how Second Life could replace social networking as people could interact with each other through this site.  This could also replace many of the online dating sites.  I do not feel that it has replaced or displaced any sites, as of yet, I believe it will take a while for anything to catch up to the Second Life. 

How many years do you think Second Life has left before another emerging technology or disruptive technology replaces it?

I feel there will be many years before Second Life will be replaced.  In my opinion, Second Life will replace many websites before any one program replaces it. 

What are the social benefits of Second Life, and what might be the social implications of virtual worlds in your industry?

One of the benefits for social networking in Second Life could be people who have mental illnesses and can’t leave their homes or they have some physical ailments that keep them from enjoying a normal social life; this program could help them and give them some semblance of normalcy.  But on the flip side, other social implications could have some people become a type of hermit and have them not socialize in the real/ physical world and may become “addicted” to this virtual world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_technology

http://secondlife.com/

Rhyme of History

Dr. Thornburg states that the rhymes of history as “the impact of a new development or technology that rekindles something from the distant past (Laureate Education Inc., 2009).

My Rhyme of History is the portable Audio player.  The first portable audio player was the Sony Walkman brand.  The Walkman was advertised in Japan before in the states in 1979.  Later on came the CD Walkman.  The next type of portable audio was the MP3 player.  The next device was the iPod.  This changed forever the way we listen to music on the go (Lungo, 2008).   

I remember having a Sony Walkman cassette player and when I think about how I listen to music on my iPhone now, there is no way I could ever go back to listening to  a cassette tape.  

Laureate Education Inc. (2009). Rhymes of history. Baltimore, MD: Author

Lungu, R., (Nov. 27, 2008). History of the portable audio player.  Retrieved from http://gadgets.softpedia.com/news/History-of-the-Portable-Audio-Player-046-01.html

Module 2 EDUC 7108

The ipad
Enhances:  brings about new applications, smaller tablet, ability to do more and the ability to be wireless and work on 3G.

Obsoletes: This technology can replace laptop computers, textbooks, and books for leisure.

Retrieves:  There has not been any technology that is similar to the ipad.

Reverses:  The only thing I believe will transform or replace this technology is another type of ipad or more technology integration as the 3 D type.

Module 1 Assignment 1

Blog Post

The iPad is the technology I have chosen for this assignment.

The The only

The one thing I do not like about the Ipad is they need flash and Apple makes and deals with their own flash.  Another issue I have is only one person at a time can use the ipad.  Even in a group, it is centralized to one person.  I have the cord in which I can attach my ipad to my projector, but it is only as direct instruction with everyone answering.  The one attribute I will give the ipad is it is great for individualized instruction.  One problem other than the ones stated are the ipad will only use programs from Apple.  What would make this technology even better would be if it were interactive with more than one person and it would work with all programs.  Another problem is there is no storage on this machine. There is not a USB drive, an SD card port or any way to attach an external drive to add more storage. 

A great website to find out about the iPad is the iPad Academy.  The link is listed below:

http://ipadacademy.com/

This website has a plethora of information about the iPad.