eBay Case Study

I actually use eBay frequently, mostly for buying and I had never tried this Flex application. I first opened my eBay account and placed an item easily on my watch list. I always found it fairly simple to locate and track my watch list items by logging into my account and either going to the "My eBay" button at the top and going to "Watch List" or going to the "Watch List" button on the side. I had never previously used the Flex app for eBay.

When I first tried to download I was not impressed. I use Firefox and I guess I have the most up to date version (or at least I thought I did). When I tried to download the app for Firefox it told me it was not available for my version of Firefox. So I had to open up Safari and then downloaded it from there. It then opened up a new window and asked me to re-login to my eBay account. After doing so, the little eBay button popped up on the left side of my browser bar. I clicked on the browser bar and nothing happened. I clicked 2 more times before I realized another Safari window opened and was again asking me to login which was kind of irritating. I logged in one more time and finally the app would function. I opened up the app and noticed a small, simple window opened displaying my active, watch list item as well as my purchased, "ended" items. If I clicked buy now, the standard ebay window would open allowing me to purchase the item.

All in all, I found that the flex app was I guess fairly simple to install but I will probably never use it because I prefer Firefox over Safari. Also I don't find it that hard to login to my ebay account and use ebay from the web.

Art and Science of Interpretation

I think what was discussed in class today is a perfect example of why it is important for us to talk about the art and science of interpretation. Today we briefly discussed how many people who vote for or against things such as health care, do so while being partly or completely ignorant to it's benefits/detriments. They do so with only the contentions they hear from media such as Foxnews or MSNBC.

As stated by Max VanManen in the syllabus, research which has critical theory, thrusts aims at promoting critical consciousness and struggles to breakdown institutional structures which reproduce oppressive ideologies. Learning about the art and sciences of interpretation and cultural studies can help us distinguish these institutions that produce these oppressive ideologies (i.e. Foxnews, MSNBC). These institutions produce their own one-sided beliefs and are not focused on the people who already agree but the people who are critically unconscious and cannot think and analyze things themselves.

Critical theory and Cultural Studies will not help us know what is wrong or right. They will simply help us emancipate our minds from the oppressive ideologies fed to us by the media by teaching us to expand our minds, rationally analyze everything and think for ourselves.

Advanced Internet Technologies

After putting such hard work into creating my website last semester I do find it sad that all of the things web designers have learned are quickly becoming obsolete but that is the harsh reality of today's digital age. Although it is true that applications seem to be taking the place of the web, it was inevitable that the web would be taken over by some type of new technology. We've seen this pattern through each generation. Many would say the radio would dissolve after television was introduced, others said books and newspapers would die after the invention of the internet. These things are still possible and only time will tell, but they still continue to hang around because there are people out there who are still passionate about keeping them alive. Whether it is the passionate producers who refuse to let them die or the persistent consumers who stubbornly ignore new age technology and remain in favor of their old ways.
Life on the go is the way people live and the speed at which they live will only continue to accelerate. That is why any time a new form of technology introduced, enables someone to complete a task while "on the go" will be quickly accepted in society and will overshadow the older, slower technology. Its the way our world works. Many people feel that this technological age is something new but it's not. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, society has continued striving to find bigger, better, faster and easier ways to move through life. Now we've just entered into a digital age that is moving quickly and the web is just another unfortunate technology that is now becoming obsolete.
Personally I still use the web a lot and would have a harder time functioning without a computer than a phone. I still think the web is important and after creating my website last semester do have a new respect for web designers. Although applications may make life easier and move faster, I still do enjoy sitting on the computer and doing some old-fashioned web-surfing. Geez time goes by fast, I remember when the term web-surfing was cool.