Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunt:
1: Who was the creator of the infamous "lovebug" computer virus?
The creator was Philippine student Onel de Guzman.
Website used:
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/06/29/philippines.lovebug.02/index.html

2: Who invented the paper clip?
A Norwegian inventor Johan Vaaler invented the paper clip in 1899.
Website used: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blpaperclip.htm

3: How did the Ebola virus get its name?
The virus got its name from a river in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the disease was first recognized.
Website used: http://ebola.emedtv.com/ebola-virus/from-what-place-did-the-ebola-virus-get-its-name.html

4: What country had the largest recorded earthquake?
The largest recorded earthquake in the world since the 1900’s was in Chile in 1960, measuring 9.5.
Website used: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/world/10_largest_world.php

5: In computer memory/storage terms, how many kilobytes in a terabyte?
1 Terabyte = 1024 G = 10242 M = 10243 K = 10244 bytes
Website used: http://www.dis.unimelb.edu.au/staff/tanya/hwtute/How_to_measure_data/measure.htm


6: Who is the creator of email?
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson implemented the first email system in 1971.
Website used: http://www.babylon.com/definition/Ray%20Tomlinson/

7: What is the storm worm, and how many computers are infected by it?
The so-called Storm worm is actually not a worm, but rather a family of Trojans that typically have the following components; A backdoor component that allows surreptitious access to infected systems; A spam relay component that turns infected machines into spam-bots; A peer networking component that allows the Storm Trojans to communicate with other infected computers on the Storm botnet; An email harvester to steal email addresses found on infected computers; A downloader/dropper component to update itself or download additional malware; and,
A rootkit is often included to hide the presence of the Storm Trojans.
Some experts have put the number of Storm-infected PCs at close to 10 million, but most estimates are more conservative, pegging the infected pool at between a few hundred thousand and a million or so machines.
Websites used: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2007/10/the_storm_worm_maelstrom_or_te.html?nav=rss_blog and http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/a/stormworm.html

8: If you wanted to contact the prime minister of Australia directly, what is the most efficient way?
Parliament House
Suite MG 8Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600
Tel:
(02) 6277 7700
Fax:
(02) 6273 4100
Griffith Electorate Office
630 Wynnum Road Morningside, QLD, 4170
Tel:
(07) 3899 4031
Fax:
(07) 3899 5755
Postal Address:
PO Box 476A Morningside, QLD, 4170
Web:
http://www.pm.gov.au/
Website used: http://www.alp.org.au/people/qld/rudd_kevin.php

9: Which Brisbane-based punk band is Stephen Stockwell (Head of the School of Arts) a member of?
The Black Assassins.
Website used: http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm

10: What does the term "Web 2.0" mean in your own words?
Web 2.0 is a means of using improved technology to allow for a more creative approach to the internet and a means in which users have the ability to view their own opinions, create their own news, and decipher what it is that is important to them. This term implies a whole new individual side of computer and internet usage. Allows for sharing and connectivity is main purpose.
Website used: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

Part 2:
How do search engines rank the stuff they find on the internet?
Search engines use mirror pages or an entrance page which means that the web page is specifically created containing more relevant keywords in a single page in order to rank higher on the "spider" search engines. However common web pages usually are very broad targeted and are not themed around particular keywords or phrases because average web pages are unfocused and not optimized properly.

what are some of your favourite search engines? why do you like one more than others?
My favourite search engines are google and yahoo as i feel that they are the two with the most amounts of information whether it be highly related or only slightly, they both allow for me to gather all the information i require and then make my own informed decision.

This weeks reading by Walter Benjamin was a difficult reading to understand. However upon re-reading it was a look at the changing natures of art and the way that art can be separated into high and low arts, and the ways in which art can act as a way of communication. Ultimately however, the reading was strongly linked to the 'aura' of art that Benjamin was talking about and how the authenticity of art is changed over time.

How I use new communication technologies!!

With recently moving away from my home and leaving behind my friends and family, these new communication technologies help me stay in touch and up to date with these people.

The most frequently used source of technology for keeping in touch with my friends would be through instant messaging formats such as Windows Live Messenger, in which it is like having an in detail conversation, in which i can be updated with all the goss and news from down there, from the stories i missed from last nights parties and the results in sports scores. With some of my technology savvy friends whom have a webcam i can have a video call with them in which i have a face to face conversation with them and is good to keep a image of them in my head. Also with my friends another vital way in which i can keep in touch is through the social networks of MySpace, Facebook and Bebo. Interestingly enough however through these social networks i have made contacts whom i haven't meet in person, and only know about them through what it is they have posted on their pages. This is surprisingly different from meeting people face to face as you have to dig for the information on the person by engaging in a conversation, whereas in a web friend the information is already provided and a judgement and opinion can be made straight away. Another important technology used in keeping in contact with my friends, in particular my good friends is through my mobile phone and the use of text messaging, voice calls and video conferencing.

However when keeping in touch with my family in particular my parents the most common use off technology is a voice call on my mobile phone. However with my mum who has just c0me to terms with some newer technologies, i have been able to communicate with her via e-mails, in which she can send me pictures and keep me up to date with what has been happening in family events. This however has only been recent as she has only just awoken to the technology the Internet has to offer, however i have been using these technologies over the past 5 years after being taught how to use them in school.

These forms of technologies and networks are important to me as they help me to keep in contact with my family and friends living in another state and it is almost instantaneous and it is most predominately free so as to free up money for making new social friends in my new state. Privacy acts not so much as a concern for me as i am able to pick and choose the people i choose to associate with, thus allowing for my ability to read people to be used in deciding their motives.

However in searching for new social relationships in QLD i find that these newer communication technologies are less effective, as I take a more personal approach in seeking conversations with people face to face whom i find interesting. However once i have formed a social friendship with these people i would consider using these technology networks in order to have a more informed and easily accessible relationship with them.

Overall these newer technologies are vital in keeping in touch with my family and friends are important to keep up to date with all the information i need.

This weeks reading was an array of readings about the film Alphaville, and an introduction to the new French Wave cinema. This assisted in gaining an understanding of Alphaville which we would be watchin next week. the glossary was particluar important to gain a greater understanding of what was going on in the readings and the film.

Introduction Post- Mitchell

Gday my names Mitchell Olivey, i was born the 12th February 1990 in Blacktown Hospital. From that day I grew and prospered from the western Sydney town, Eastern Creek.

From an early age i had a passion for sport but was never quite good enough to make it to representative levels, however my knowledge, passion and enthusiasm for all sports continued to grow and my dreams of becoming a sports reporter or journalist were started.

As of my final year of high school at the sleepy town of Rooty Hill i decided that a move was in order, so i applied for all my university courses at Griffith on the Gold Coast. Within those UAC acceptance dates my move was finalised and the house hunting began, shortly i found myself a place to live close enough to the beach for my liking and the individualism began.

Although i have left my family and friends to pursue my dreams by myself i feel as though the time that i had spent with them helps me to achieve my dreams and pushes me to strive harder to achieve them. I still keep in contact with my close friends from NSW and will always remember the impacts that they have had on my life.

My university life acts as the next and hopefully final stepping stones for my sports journalism career to become a reality. I have a great passion of sports and ironically I begin my journey of sports journalism in the centenary year of my favourite sport Rugby League.

Having only recently moving to Qld i am still getting used to the way this state operates, I have to get used to the more relaxed atmosphere up here, and having been a die hard NSW's fan in all sports i have to get used to living in the enemy state and seeing people walking around in those horrible maroon jerseys.However as time progresses i while eventually learn to accept the atmosphere and lifestyle of a Queenslander but still manage to passionately support my NSW teams.

This weeks reading was the 'Handbook for Bloggers' and was basically an introduction to blogging. It also provided information on what is blogging, gave a history of blogging, and was a good reading in helping to gain an understanding of blogging, and helped us understand why we are posting our blogs.