Digital Divide

My podcast goes a little further in the problems that face persons from a low socio-economic status. Below you will find other podcasts that caught my attention to the problems or current issues we are facing in regards to digital access.

For those who may not have Broadband or other High Speed Internet Access you can find the text version for my podcast that is listed at the bottom of the page. Right here:

Digital Divide Text Version

I work in the SAPR department at NKU (work-study) and one of my jobs is to aid professors with their IT issues and difficulties. NPR > Technology > Meltdown? “A Digital Phenomenon” > Digital Age Podcast (WNYE) ITunes http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=7494440 (28.45 minutes & 13.3 Megabytes). Date accessed June 5, 2009 It pretty much summarizes in a summery of questions, “Is the financial crisis a product of a digital world? Did the speed of digitalbility connected markets contribute to the debacle? Did senior management understand the complex nature of computer-generated derivatives traded by junior traders or is it a matter of greed and easy credit?” By John Cassidy of the New Yorker and James Goodale, former Vice Chairman of The New York Times. They theorize the collapse was contributed by the digital age - it gave the end-users the tools to create portability and mobility to devices that aided in the collapse. Without the information super-highway and the ease of accessibility, the Global Markets would not have had access of moving the trillions of dollars, as compared with their counterparts a decade ago. NPR > Technology > NPR: 06-03-2009/NPR: Technology Podcast (NPR) ITunes http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819382 (15.39 minutes & 7.2 Megabytes). Date accessed June 5, 2009. Download Downer: The Limits of At-Home Movies There are two more combined podcasts but I will just relate a little on the title named above. Digital convergence is a new technology, and still has several issues to work out. For instance cost; Netflix Q (2) Q’s movies in the mail, and the Q’s movies you want to stream on-line. You can view one of two ways, one on your computer streamed into your computer, or a Netflix box connected to your TV and then you select from the instant watch Q  that requires a special Netflix Blue Ray Player and it arranges it to order on-line movies, that you want to purchase in the Q and then download the movies on to the Blue Ray Player. One issue was interesting, was the idea that currently TV manufacturers are creating chips that incorporate software’s that will be more accessible to someone who can afford an HDTV and will within the TV offer more choices for downloading movie options for At-Home viewing when connected to the Internet. NPR > Technology > NPR: 05-27-2009/NPR: Technology Podcast (NPR) ITunes http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=4819382 (5.26 minutes & 2.6 Megabytes). Date accessed June 5, 2009. Features Abound for the New Smart Phones It seems to come down to financial capabilities. If a person’s personal choice or employment need is to roam the NET at any given 24-hour period, send emails, and have the capacity to send attachments and always be in the Net loop. Than Smart phones will give people the opportunities to do just that. Again, it seems that several issues keep arising: for instance, financial stability or availability is a major ingredient to Tech, the Net, and the devices required for the manipulation of tools in becoming Net bound. In addition, regional reliance on Broadband for those in rural areas can also be a hindrance. Some persons may not have the financial resources to cover the costs of a Broadband service provider. And lastly, language - a new cyber, and or text language that may not be known or changes so rapidly that persons who are not nearly out of High school or college may not know how to navigate the new and changing cyber language. The language barrier within the IT subset can contribute to generational gaps. Last FM is a portal where you can listen to music, watch videos, and concerts. It is the largest on-line catalog for music. It recommends music and videos based on your preferences. In addition, the good part of it, is FREE. However, if you rely on dial-up, it does have its disadvantages. You can download podcasts, but it takes serious time, since music is heavy in MB’s. You can find many free songs on ITunes, but mainly it is a pay per click service. I have noticed that people who are young and who maybe without dependents have much more access to IT, devices, and their portals. I feel it is a generational gap to some degree. When you are young, you make room in your life for what interests you, and which holds value and pay particular attention to the most current technologies and devices that interests you. However, I feel if you are a little older, your priorities maybe on other necessities; and although a person may want to keep up with current IT and their devices, financially it may not be an option. Therefore, socio-economics can damped a person’s tech savvy aspirations. Sidebar: My mom lives in Nashville, Indiana and could not even dial-up if she was given a chance. And due to the monopoly on Broadband providers she is only offered one very expensive Broadband service; if she did not have the resources for her current Broadband service provider, she would not be engaging in any form of on-line communication and most important to her, is her on-line GAMES (WarCraft) and many, many others. For example, if you have heard of these people you can download FREE music from Last FM: · Maeran · Frozen Silence · Sandal · Barbara Karlik · Alfarspace It is a Free Social Networking Site for Music Lovers. My user name is franksinwein and if you are interested in signing up and listening to some really great tunes, feel free to shout out. http://www.last.fm/user/franksinwein It would seem that age, tech information, tech-language, regional differences, and socio-economics all play a hand in the age of the NET; for the good and the bad. *Just a side note, RSS feeds are really handy if you want to keep current on issues in real time. I don’t know about XP but in Vista, if there is a RSS feed available it will show up in the search window and you click on that orange button, it will ask if you want to attach it to your Outlook mail and it will give you a link in your Outlook files to real time RSS feeds. There is a great many feeds and it is useful if you just want to know about a certain niche.