EOTO Technology presentations: Drones

 I got the opportunity to learn about many different technologies throughout the years and how they've impacted communication. One that stood out to me was drones. When I think of drones I think of small aircraft controlled by remotes and people. However, drones have seemed to advance throughout the years. Drones were used as military weapons for many years upon influencing communication. Drones have become such a unique way for journalists to capture images and videos at angles we never could before. However, I learned some disadvantages come with it such as environmental hazards. Drones have now been used for news to broadcasts to unreachable places and reach new outlets. Drones have also been used as ways to carry information from one place to another more efficiently. For example, Walmart was using drone services to deliver their packages to homes in a faster and more efficient way. Nowadays many people use drones as cameras to capture heights a human camera could never reach. A lot of movies and music videos use drone production to capture amazing footage. Drones have advanced immensely. Drones are also now used for aerial photography for journalism, film, and real estate, as well as express shipping and delivery. Drones are used for gathering information or supplying essentials for disaster management. Drones could also save someone's life with easier access to search and rescue operations. I think it's so cool that we can have these drones as a way to communicate and see places we never thought we could.

Mainstream news and the lack of antiwar news being broadcasted

 I would say it seems mainstream news only likes to broadcast things they find important and want people to hear about. I will say this is the first time I’ve ever seen an antiwar website. I think the news only shows what they want to see. War has been a thing my entire life and for some, it seems to be a regular thing. Sadly, the war has been almost normalized as something that we hear about and are aware is happening all around the world. Maybe even something people couldn't picture a life without it. I will say I think the mainstream news sites should talk about antiwar and the idea of it to broaden the views of others. Going through these antiwar websites was very eye-opening. My entire life I’ve never heard and seen anything about antiwar. It was very fascinating to listen to what someone had to say about it. The websites were full of many information and ideas I didn't even know about. This website seemed to be full of many different facts and resources. The websites appeared to be very well thought out and descriptive. I truly believe big mainstream news tries to stay out of war drama to prevent big outcomes. For example, this could arise protests and more people against the war, maybe even some people not wanting to join the war. However, I do think mainstream news sites should talk about it and not gatekeep that opinion. Many people just want peace in this world, however, it's difficult to maintain that peace in America when there have been many wars all throughout the world. As much as the mainstream news includes almost everything going on in the world, there definitely is some propaganda being broadcasted. Either way there is much information on pro-war and antiwar in the world even when we don’t hear about it all. It was very eye-opening to read about a side of war that I’ve never been educated on. 

The Smartphone

 The first smartphone was invented in 2007 by Steve Jobs and soon became a world phenomenon users can’t live without. The first debut of this life-changing phone was on January 9th, 2007 at the Macworld convention in San Francisco. Jobs' exact words about the new phone being, “An iPod, a phone, and an Internet communicator. An iPod, a phone … Are you getting it? These are not three separate devices, this is one device, and we are calling it iPhone.” (Jobs) While Steve Jobs seems to state being the first inventor of the modern smartphone we use today, Frank Canova was the first to lay claim to the title of the smartphone with his device in 1992. Canova claimed his idea of this smartphone, a wireless hand-held device to be “the phone of the future”. Canova demonstrated his prototype at the November 1992 COMDEX technology trade show in Las Vegas. On August 16, 1994, his product went on sale to the public. His smartphone was sold for only $899 with a two-year contract to BellSouth. 

The features of this smartphone included a touchscreen, a PCMCIA expansion slot, and multiple apps that included a calculator, address book, fax, calendar, mail, to-do, and a notepad. The battery only lasted for an hour and its large size, 8” H x 2.5” W x 1.5” D had limited the sales to only 50,000 units. And because of this, it resulted in the product being pulled from the market only after 6 months of being on the market.

            

When Steve Jobs released his new and improved iPhone, thousands of customers lined up at Apple Stores all across the country to purchase the iPhone. By November 2007 more than 1.4 million iPhones had been sold. The invention of the year was a 4.8-ounce device, originally available in 4 GB, a $499 model, and an 8 GB, $599 model. It was a revolutionary phenomenon for the technology industry. The features of the Jobs iPhone were the phone, weather, notes, calendar, photos, and a calculator. Similar to Canova's phone but more modern and advanced for the time being. This phone also has a touchscreen unlike the other. The iPhone is a combination of a computer, iPod, digital camera, and cellular phone all into one device with a touchscreen interface. This iPhone was created to combine all these devices into one handled device that people could take with them everywhere. 

The first iPhone laid down the foundation for the modern smartphone we use now. This pocket-sized computer is a necessity for all and contains everything you could need in the palm of your hand. The iPhone was the first modern smartphone that turned all of us into photographers, put the internet in our pockets, and shaped modern social media. Now more than 5 billion people around the world are using these handheld smartphone devices on a daily basis according to estimates from GSMA Intelligence. 

The smartphone changed the game of communication by becoming a handheld communicator device that people could take with them everywhere. No more wires, or antennas to help capture the best cell signals. This iPhone changed how we communicate and made it so much easier for us. The only negative effect of the iPhone would be the addiction that comes with it. 75.4 of users of the iPhone would state they have become “addicted “ to their iPhones (Reviews.org, 2020). It seems as if our generation can't go without their iPhone and personally I would say the same. My iPhone has become the first thing I use in the morning to the last thing I use before I go to bed. It has become an addictive tool that is only advancing as the years go on. 

Values of Free Expression

 6. Promote Tolerance — see Lee Bollinger, The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech

  It has been argued that freedom of speech, especially through our practice of extending protection to speech that we find hateful or personally upsetting, teaches us to become more tolerant in other aspects of life — and that a more tolerant society is a better society. Somewhat counter-intuitive, the First Amendment protects hate speech because society learns valuable lessons from, including why it is hateful and worthy of condemnation. It’s how we spread norms about acceptable behavior.

    I truly believe that the Promote Tolerance value of Free Expression resonates with me the most. Freedom of speech is such a powerful and important amendment that I stand by. I think it is so crucial for an individual to speak their truth and mind when it feels necessary. Sometimes words can be found hateful and upsetting which can teach us to be more tolerant in life. There have been times when I’ve been hurt by words and it has impacted my self-esteem and how I think about myself. However, this has challenged me to be tolerant in other aspects of my life. It allowed me to accept being focused and more sympathetic to everything else that is going on in my life. Allows us to focus on other things going on. Being tolerant eliminates one's self-inflicted barriers and allows one to think more widely and enjoy inner peace. Having this sense of tolerance can lead to less stress and greater happiness in the community. A theory like this can help explain something going on in real life because words of hate can lead to growth or importance in oneself. Take social media, for example, it allows freedom of speech to be expressed anonymously online every day. These words expressed can be good and positive or usually hateful. This can teach us to be open-minded and allows us to be more tolerant in life.  

 

 

4. Individual Self-Fulfilment ( aka Self-Actualization) — see C. Edwin Baker, Human Liberty, and Freedom of Speech

  Free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity — and, in the process perhaps, find kindred spirits. Freedom of speech thus becomes an aspect of human dignity, human agency, and autonomy. 

    I found the fourth expression of individual self-fulfillment to be very relatable to myself and others around me. Going back on freedom of speech and how important our words can be. How we speak plays a big role in how others think of us by how we act, talk to and with others, and the tone of our voice. Speaking freely becomes a part of believing in one's worth. I resonate with this expression because I do think it's so important to have self-awareness and self-respect. Speaking freely about one's beliefs and seeking fulfillment through words. I think freedom of speech is one of the most important amendments that we have because of how valuable our words can be. Going back to social media, I think the expression of speech and self-fulfillment can relate to social media and what people are putting out there. Online people can speak how they want for their own pleasure and typically do it anonymously with ease. However, sometimes there's too much freedom where words can hurt others. There are some cases words of affirmation and kindness are spread online but in others, words of hatred and greed can be spread uncontrollably. How you speak to someone can completely affect one's impression of you in either a good or bad way. I think having the honor to speak freely is a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted. 

Why is free speech important?

https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2016/04/free-speech-important/#:~:text=Why%20is%20free%20speech%20important%3F,-13%20Apr%202016&text=Freedom%20of%20expression%20is%20a,bring%20about%20change%20in%20society. 

Above is a brief interview on why it is so important that we are able to speak freely under the First Amendment. 

The Supreme Court

The video made me rethink how the court and cases are made and determined. Before learning more about the Supreme Court I was unaware of the chief justices that are necessary for dealing with the cases. The video claimed that in all of American History, there have been just over a hundred Supreme Court justices serving an average of 16 years. That surprised me in which I thought there would be so much more justices serving throughout that timeline. All of the justices in this video seem very well experienced and trained for any court case. It was so fascinating to hear what they had to say on the inner side of the court. One justice had stated “being appointed to the supreme court is akin to being struck by lightning”. Seeming for it to be very rare to be granted a place on the Supreme Court. I’ve learned that being a part of the Supreme Court takes a lot of responsibility and knowledge. It is not any normal job that is always “hiring”. Another thing I learned during this video is that “We The People” was only composed of a very small part of the people. Where no women could vote, people were held in bondage, and Native Americans were not treated as citizens of equal stature and dignity. However, all of those people do count as “We The People” even if they initially didn't at the start. Times have changed and more people have gained their freedom and independence. I was intrigued to find out that only 9 justices gather in a room alone to vote on a case, with no law clerks or even a secretary. The video made me think about how prestigious the justices and court take all the cases and how much work goes into it. I found it so fascinating to learn about the Supreme Court and get an inside scoop on how it all works. 

    

News Information Sources

  Personally, when I am trying to find information and news about what's going on in the world I always go to the internet and tv. Throughout middle school and high school, my teachers would always put on CNN news. I have found CNN to be very informative and reliable. I like CNN's setup online and how they show what's trending big on the page as well as links to the US, World, Politics, Business, and more. The website is also very eye-catching which I think is important when looking for information because it catches the reader's eye. There are also many videos linked and live updates from all around the world. 

https://www.cnn.com/ 

    Another news source that I have found to be very good and reliable is ABC News. I’ve always watched ABC news growing up and found it to be very intriguing and impressive. I like how they view the trending news and have that big on the front page. They also have links to videos, lives, shows, guns in America and so much more. There is a lot on their news source which I find all to be great information.

  https://abcnews.go.com/ 

    The New York Times is another amazing resource for all news and information. Their sources always include trending information with big headlines and covers that grab the reader's attention. The online source also includes world, U.S, politics, N.Y., business, opinion, tech, science, health, sports, arts, books, style, food, travel, magazine, T Magazine, real estate, and video. I think this is probably one of the best and most reliable sources that many people go to for information and news. 

https://www.nytimes.com/

    Another great and reliable source is The Washington Post. Very similar to The New York Times this source highlights trending and important information as well as includes many more news stories and opinions. This source also has many different sections for each main topic. Coronavirus, for example, includes stories and information on the virus from over the years. This is another one of my go-to sources when diving for new information.

  https://www.washingtonpost.com/

    Just like ABC News, I grew up watching Fox News with my family on a day-to-day basis. I enjoy how eye-catching this source is with its many headlines and news stories. This source includes politics, weather, media, entertainment, sports, lifestyle and so much more. I enjoy looking through this news source because of all the great and intriguing information that they provide. Each one of these sources I believe is very reliable and provides such powerful and striking information that will keep readers attached. 

https://www.foxnews.com/