What More I Would Like to Learn

As I take this CPS100 course, I have learned a lot of unknown information such as short-cut keys, hardware, and HTML. I think I got various and valuable knowledge from this class. However, I have more things I want to learn about computer.

I want to know how to make music by computer. Actually I know some ways to make simple music, but I do not have any knowledge to make music by using guitar, bass, and microphone. Since my hobby is playing the guitar, I want to create my own music in the future. Therefore, I would like to know how to collect and edit the sound of instruments through computer.

In addition, as I said in the first post of this blog, I want to know how to make a cool site. I learned basic points to make web sites, but I still don't know special effects of web making like in Feel The Power. Even though I perhaps need some expensive soft to make such effects, I'd like to learn and try it! Besides the special effects of web sites, I would like to know the way to make and post Internet radio and postcasting. I listen to Internet radio every day and every night, so I want to make Internet radio station like Kojima Productions Radio Station.

I have many things I'd like to learn more, so my journey to find new world of computer never end.
I want to end this blog with one of my favorite lines by Motoko Kusanagi in a Japanese animation, Ghost in the Shell, "The net is vast and infinite."

What Is "Viral Video"?

The term, "Viral Video," seems like some computer virus by using video. However, the truth is different.

Viral Video is the video that people can watch on the Net, usually by using e-mail, web sites, blogs, and so forth. Typically, it is for free. There are various types of Viral Videos such as video for advertisement, for fun, for private, and etc.

Recently, Viral Video has been advanced immediately. Why? It is because it is usually for free and easy-to-watch. In addition to these reasons, the arrival of reasonable video equipments and the sensational debut of YouTube led to the spread of Viral Video.

I think the term "Viral Video" was named because it spreads very rapidly in broad ways. Some people, who you do not know, "post their videos" on the Net without any limitations, and the videos are showed publicly. Then Internet users "receive" them as enjoyable purpose. It's like a VIRUS!!

Finally, I'd like to show some video clips as examples of viral video.

1. This is really funny!!
The Man of 100 Voices


2. Super-High Voice By Vitas



3. "Here It Goes Again" by OK GO. The band made its music clip by themselves and showed on YouTube, then became famous because of this video!!!

Computer Gifts I Would Buy For My Family

If I would present something for my family, I'd like to give my parents a skype. Since I am going to California this summer and we will not contact so often, a skype is the excellent product to solve the loss of contact. My parents especially my father often call me, and if I or my parents use regular telephone to talk with each others, money will rapidly 'escape' from me!! In terms of cost, there is none for a skype. Therefore, I think it is best product to buy for my family now.

Actually, I have been viewing some web sites that have many skype camera and microphone types, so I will probably buy a skype for my parents in May before I will go to the United States.

What Is "Net Neutrality"?

Net Neutrality, or Network Neutrality, is the concept that every Internet users should have equal right to access any services on the Net. There should be no exception according to racial, religious, aging, and gender reasons. In other words, no one should control or limit the networks on the Internet. According to Google,

"Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet."

Therefore, Internet users, not providers or companies, should direct the Internet by themselves consciously.
Net Neutrality is the fundamental idea of the Internet. However, actually there IS a difference. For instance, some sites like Yahoo or a streaming video cite provide extremely high quality movies; in this case, people with high speed Internet connection can watch them easily but people with slow speed Internet connection may take two hours to watch thirty-minute films. There IS a difference. Consequently, net neutrality has become commonly accepted, yet the real situation on the Internet is something different from the hoped outcome.
Net Neutrality has been the topic of hot debates especially in the US in the recent years because of the REAL situation that most companies try to get better service by suggesting customers to pay more money, which is quite different from net neutrality. In this year, 2007, Windows Vista came out, so the debates about network neutrality are probably going to be hotter. I'd like to look the debates in the long terms and see if what the Internet is going to be like.

News About Computer

I was amazed at the news in C/Net News, One-third of U.S. Net surfers have gone wireless. The article says more and more people in the United States log in the Internet with no wire. Even in their home, the number of Internet users by wireless networks is growing. I was particularly surprised at the fact that 20 percent of U.S. citizens use the wireless networks at home. I think the number of wireless networks at home in Japan is much less than that in U.S. I guess the number in U.S. is growing up because Americans' houses are so big that most people think they should try wireless networks rather than straggling with a Internet circuit. I would like to know the same research done in Japan. In my guess, the number of wireless users at home in Japan is lower, and the number of wireless users outside is much higher than U.S.

Three Favorite & Good Web Sites!

I have a lot of favorite web sites, but here I will pick out three web sites that I'd like most people to visit.

The first one! I introduce the postcasting blog that is called Tokyo Calling. The host, Scott, shows many interesting things he notices and wants to introduce in Tokyo. He uses video, which he calls "vlog", mp3, and pictures for each time. Links that are related to the topics he introduces are added each time, so it's easy to grasp the topics. I think it's a very good web sites not only for the foreigners who are interested in Tokyo because they can know what daily life in Tokyo is like but also for Japanese because we Japanese can know how some foreigners think about Tokyo and the related topics.

The second one! 24 official web site! 24 is my most favorite drama I've ever watched. The web site is also cool! I can't watch season 6 now, so the top page may not be worth looking but other pages are extremely good. You can get the information of previous episodes or chapters, but I am really fascinated with 24 inside. In there, there are a lot of interviews of 24's casts, so it's very enjoyable to know real people who acted the characters.

The last one! I found the site recently. It's called Piero Scaruffi's History of Rock Music. You can get the information of the history of rock music. I haven't read all of the writings, but I am sure it is a good web site to understand how rock music has developed, which some people think is extraordinarily facinating. From the history, I can know some unknown rock bands for me in a certain period and can try to listen to those bands.

These 3 are just some of my favorite web sites, but I think these are worth looking for most people. Check them out!!!

Social Engineering

Social Engineering is the hacking technique to gather secret information that people must not let others know such as the security number of credit cards, a password or e-mail address of some Internet-shopping sites, phone numbers, and zip code. (Friends and family may know your phone numbers and zip code, though.) The hackers use several techniques to get those information.

The typical example of social engineering is phishing. It's the social engineering technique that persuades people to send their passwords of banks, credit cards, or sites. Hackers pretend to be bank owners or site owners and send e-mail to customers. The e-mail looks like this and this. If you get something like these, you must not tell your personal information and account!! It's so dangerous!

In recent years pay-money fraud, 振り込め詐欺 (furikome-sagi) in Japanese, has become popular in Japan. It is a kind of social engineering that frauds call someone or send letters to strangers. The typical phone talking is like this, "Hey, mom!! It's me! It's me!! I'm in big trouble! I ran over a woman and I have to pay 1,000,000 yen!! Please deposit those money into her bank account immediately!!! The bank account is ..."
It seems silly, but many people are deceived into paying money in strangers' bank account.

I am going to study abroad, so I think I should tell the information mentioned in here to my parents.

Apple Computers

Actually, I do not know about the Mac or apple computers. But, I know apple computers gave us a lot of impact in the field of computer.
I know apple computers created the first GUI computer. I think it was very epoch-making. It's like Columbus!! Besides, for me, iPot was the switching device of the music field. Most people including me were surprised by it. I don't have it, so I want to get one soon!! I was inspired by the speech about iPhone of the president of apple computers, which I watched in apple.com . I think iPhone will cause another revolution by apple computers in cell phone field.
Overall, I know Mac and apple computers are most stylish, sensational, and cool products and company!!!

My Curiosity about Computers

I have two things to learn about computers.

In the beginning, I want to know about how I can improve my research skills on the Internet. Because I always take a long time to find the right information I am looking for on the Net, I have felt irritated. I think I seriously need to improve the speed of searching the available and exact information. Definitely, the skill will be necessary for research papers, speeches, or other things in my academic study.

In addition to the research skills on the Internet, what I want to know is the effective way of making web pages. I want to have my own web page in the future, so I want to know how I can make the simple but cool homepage, which has cool images like my original flash. Making original flash may be difficult, but I’d like to know about it.

In sum, I basically want to know the technical skills on the Internet like research ability and web page making.