#com125

Hello everyone and welcome back to the final installment of Introduction to Internet! 

Even though this is the last installment for this project, I will be blowing your mind today with the topic of the week: Internet of Things (IoT) & Future of the Internet!!

WHAT IS INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT)? 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical things embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity which enables these objects to collect and exchange data with one another.

IoT can also be known as Web 3.0, which in turn is known as The Semantic Web!

From the image that I have provided:

Web 1.0 is the publication and creation of content

Web 2.0 is the interaction via social media and the automatization of machines

Web 3.0 is the inter-operation, Internet of Things as well as the Smart Cities and other Smart technologies that come together with it

You will be amazed at how many things in our everyday lives are actually part of IoT! So let me introduce to you the different types of connections IoT have in our daily lives (See what I did there? Heh)

CONNECTED INNOVATIONS

Connected Home

You can see from the diagram above that on a connected home, alarms, security systems, lightning and heating as well as remote activities such as coffee machine is able to work effectively with just some pre-customization and the touch of a button. How convenient!

Connected Car

In a connected car, one will be able to get information on the go about road and traffic updates, parking availability as well as auto parking their cars as and when they want. Everything will be well planned, and they will be able to reach their destination on time, without any extra hassle or accidents.

Connected Doctor 

In connected doctor, patients will be able to get in touch with their doctors at the touch of their fingertips. With analysis technology and machine learning involved, personalized diagnosis, treatment and outpatient care will be made available 24/7 with a more accurate predictions and shorter waiting time.

Connected Business

For connected business, companies will be able to work way more effectively and cut down on the extra admin costs when everything is digital now. Posts, email responds, invoices and contracts can all be done online, and this helps reduce the waiting time and allows competitive pricing and service levels for their consumers!

So, after mentioning all the Connected Innovations that we have in our everyday lives, you can check out more about other Connected Innovations by visiting this link here: IoT

FINAL THOUGHTS

Internet of Things is the future. With movies and television series such as the Matrix and Black Mirror depicting IoT concepts predicting the future of technology, I believe that it is nearer than we thought. However, the technology surrounding IoT must be affordable before we can implement it nationwide or even worldwide.

Personally, I have a Connected Home technology, but it only applies for the Washing machine and the Air Conditioning systems. I am able to connect to these systems with the touch of a button on the application on my phone and it is convenient as I do not have to manually set the settings of a wash cycle or the temperature. All I have to do is to click on a button!

ENDING OFF (FOREVER)

I hope that you have learnt a lot about how the future of the internet is going to be like as well as how IoT has already been integrated into our daily lives without us knowing! It is interesting right?!

I really enjoyed learning all these knowledge and sharing them with all of you and I will end this here.

Hello everybody and welcome back to my 9th installation of Introduction to Internet! 

I will be talking about the different types of multimedia that are available on the Internet today, but I will only be focusing on the interesting ones; Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality.

I have learnt that there is a difference between Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). So, let me try and explain the differences and show you some amazing examples on how VR and AR is used for today!

WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY (VR)

Virtual Reality (VR) is a three-dimensional computer-generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person will then become a part of the virtual world and is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions using specific gadgets provided.

For VR to work, we would need the most important gadget; 

Head-Mounted Display (HMD)

These VR HMDs ranges from the cheap cardboard-ish from Google at only $30 to high end ones such as the PlayStation VR that costs over $600.

Without further ado, let me show you a parody video that shows us how VR works!

There are other gadgets and technologies that is branched out from VR too! Let me introduce you to them!

Binocular Omni-Orientation Monitor (BOOM)

This technology includes a head-coupled stereoscopic display device and uses high resolution display with built-in tracking for our convenience. This VR technology is bulky, but this allows the user to engage in the full VR experience.

Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE)

This technology provides an illusion of immersion by projecting stereo images on the walls and floor in a room. The head tracking system will then adjust the stereo and visuals according to the current position off the viewer. The user will then be able to interact with objects in the room by moving around or just simply grabbing them.

Data Glove

This technology is fitted with sensors throughout the whole glove and can track and get real time data such as hand gestures when the user moves their hand to grab certain objects.

This technology is also further developed into more portable ones and then commonly used for gaming or experiments.

WHAT IS AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) 

Augmented Reality (AR) is a form of technology where computer generated images are superimposed onto objects as a form of enhancement. They improve or augment what is already there in the real world.

Is this confusing? Fret not! Let me explain further by giving you some examples.

I am pretty sure that you have played PokemonGo or have heard of it in your life!

Yes! PokemonGo uses AR technology for us to be able to see the Pokémon that are in the vicinity with the help of the application PokemonGo!  We are then able to catch these Pokémon with our Poke-ball and gain points to level up our game avatars.

You can see from the gif above that it uses the current surroundings it has and superimpose these pokemon onto them as a form of enhancement. 

Augmented Reality is also used in many different industries such as in the medical field, in entertainment or even in the military. However, let me just show you this interesting AR technology that allows us, the common folk to use for our horrendous parking!

This AR application is called Air Measure and you can see from the gifs that it uses AR technology to accurately measure the distance from the cars and how it calculates if the car is able to parallel park into that spot over there.

Here is a video for a closer look:

FINAL THOUGHTS

While it is true that the VR and AR technology is relatively different, I feel that it allows us to explore and do many other stuff with it in the future. With various industries getting to know and adopting these technologies, it won’t be too far off in the future to see everything being Virtual or Augmented Reality-ed. Honestly, I am stoked to be able to play with my new Play Station VR headset that I recently bought!

ENDING OFF

I hope that you had learnt plenty from this week’s instalment about the different types of multimedia and how VR and AR work generally. I also hope that you will be as open as me with regards to embracing this multimedia of the future!

Till then, and I will see you next week for our final installment!

Hello everyone and welcome back to my 8th installment of Introduction to Internet.

I will be talking about security on the internet in this post. I am pretty sure that when it comes to hack, you will either think of the series of HBO hacks that happened in August earlier this year or all the hacking done by Elliot Anderson on the hit series Mr. Robot.

We learnt about the dangers of the Internet, the different forms of cyber-crimes and how we can prevent ourselves from falling victims to them this week!! 

So, without further ado, let me introduce to you the different kinds of cyber-crime that we are vulnerable to today!

CYBER-CRIMES 

There are plenty different forms of cyber-crimes. However, I will only be listing the common ones that we always fall victims to.

File hijacker (Ransomware)

Hijackers hijack files and hold ransom until they get what they want. This cyber-crime is on the rise in the recent years.

Keylogging

Criminals obtain passwords and personal information using what we type on our keyboard.

Screenshot manager

Criminals can take screenshots of computer screens illegally with a software

Ad clicker

Criminals will create online ads look alike to get access to their victim’s computers

Hacking

Criminals will be able to gain access to a network, causing damage or to steal data

Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS)

Criminals will render a network or website unusable to get what they want or just to disrupt businesses

Honestly, I have fallen victim to Ad clicker and I think that it was the silliest thing I have ever done. I couldn’t use my laptop after and had to get a new one due to that stupid mistake of mine. But I am now aware of it and it did not happen to me ever again. Hehe

MONTH OF HACKS; HBO 

HBO is also known as Home Box Office and it is the oldest and longest operating television service in the United States. It started operation in 1972 and till today, HBO have tons of multiplex channels that caters to people of all ages. They are HBO Comedy, HBO Latino and HBO Family just to name a few.

HBO is known to host a couple of blockbuster series like Game of Thrones, Room 104, Trueblood and The Deuce.

However, winter came early for them when they were hit with hacks and date leaks in August this year.

August 2nd

HBO shows, and scripts were leaked, and unknown hackers managed to infiltrate into HBO’s servers to get the upcoming and unreleased shows and scripts. Hackers also threatened to release more information in the weeks to come. Episodes of shows such as Game of Thrones and Ballers were released to the public.

August 9th

The same hackers, now known as Mr. Smith released more data and information to the public but this time, they added a ransom note, demanding HBO to pay them in Bitcoins for their silence. This data dump included more unreleased episodes and scripts of Game of Thrones and Ballers and other more sensitive information such as internal emails and documents like employee agreements, marketing strategies and financial balance sheets.

HBO paid the hackers $250k in total for this ‘bug bounty’.

August 17th

With HBO strengthening their internet security on their servers and accounts, their social media pages were hacked by OurMine. 

OurMine gained control of HBO social media accounts and this was the tweet that they posted below:

This is obviously a dig towards HBO as they had mentioned that they had their server security improved. HA! The series of hacks did not end here though……

August 19th

It is reported that many of the cast on Game of Thrones got their personal information such as their personal emails, phone numbers and addresses leaked, and they had to change and improve security because of harassments from strangers.

August 21st

This whole month of hell for HBO is finally coming to an end when hackers threatened them for the last time that they were going to leak the finale of Game of Thrones to the public mentioning any ransoms.

Here is the whole timeline of the series of HBO hacks that I have talked about!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Honestly, I feel that the hackers might have saved the best for last after they got their ransom of $250000. Because they eventually still leaked the episode and I have seen it when my friends sent it to me. Also, this also teaches everyone a lesson on internet security and that they should check their internet security every few years and upgrade it to prevent such hacks from happening.

Till next week, my lovely readers!

Hello everyone and welcome to my 7th installment of Introduction to Internet. 

We did not learn anything new this week due to midterms and I gave myself a few days off after the tough midterms to catch up on the television show ‘Black Mirror’.

WHAT IS BLACK MIRROR

Black Mirror is a science fiction anthology series that centers around dark and satirical themes that examines the modern society. Each episode has a different cast, a different setting and a different reality that depicts the way we are living now and the problems that we might face if we abuse or steer away from our own principles.

So why am I sharing this with you guys?

As this module, Introduction to Internet is all about the internet’s origin, the present and the future, we did not talk much about the future of the internet yet and thus this is really interesting for us to know.

NOSEDIVE

Nosedive is an episode in Season 3 of Black Mirror and it talks about living in a society where one’s social rating with others actually influence their lives literally. Lacie, the protagonist, is a young woman that is overly obsessed with her ratings due to her ambitions and her being the maid of honour for her childhood friend Naomi, who is of a ‘higher’ social standard and Lacie has to do whatever it takes to match up to her friend. With disasters circling Lacie due to her blind chase for fame and better ratings, she ended up learning that ratings is not what it seems in the hard way.

This is a short feature by Netflix:

Looks good but scary isn't it!

Here are some gifs that I made from the show itself: 

If you are interested in this television series, Black Mirror, please watch it on Netflix legally or you can contact me for other ways to watch it.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This is a very interesting television series as it really depicts the way we live in today. Some of them horrific and it is our reality in the future if we do not have any restrains or limits. This series made me look at my internet or social media use in retrospect and I realised that I was so dependent on it that it got unhealthy. It is time to cut down on this dependency and start living life better.

Till then, I will be seeing you guys for our 8th installment next week!

Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? 

So, the semester is coming to a close, and formal lessons in school have ended. As for COM125, we are down to the Finals on a long time coming, Dec. 14 (albeit horribly late but better late than never). Excited? Yes. I think we all deserve a break from a very tiring semester. To be honest, the Internet is a lot more than what we know. COM125 has shown me that. The Internet - is something that keeps evolving. COM125 is not the same from 5 years ago and will not be the same in 5 years time either. I think that is the beauty of the Internet. A constant change and influx of information and intelligence. So here is the compilation of what we have done in 13 weeks.

Week 1: Introduction to Internet (Past, Present, Future)

Week 2: Social Media (Management Tools and Platforms)

Week 3: Social Media for Business

Week 4: e-Commerce

Week 5: e-Learning

Week 6 & 7: Internet Tools (Vlog)

Week 8: Internet Security

Week 9: Internet Media

Week 10: Internet and Politics

Week 11: Internet and Journalism

Week 12: Future of Internet

And here we are, back in the present of Week 13. Indeed, COM125 has been hella a ride but this is how the Internet will stay relevant - by constantly changing. Couldn’t have pulled through this module without Abel and his “baaaaaaaaaaad” jokes - thank you!

Signing off for the last time, ZNXL

(Leaving yall my favourite “baaaaaaaad” joke from class)  Abel: *teaching class material* So class, tell me whyyyyyyy? (proceeds to sing the song) 

(not a product placement but a great video summary with good graphics) 

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects or "things" embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity, which enables these objects to collect and exchange data. By the year 2020, it is estimated that at least 26 million things will be connected to the Internet. Some even project it at 50 billion things - that means.. approximately 5~6 objects for each person standing on Earth. Insane? Yes. Plausible? Also yes. This is the future of the Internet - a big part of what is envisioned to be “Web 3.0″.

As we know, even though Web 2.0 has changed passive users of the Internet to creators of content - there is still a lot of unlinked data of the same genre that is just simply... floating around in Internet space. Web 3.0 aims to close that gap. With all the astounding amount of new content created daily, the next step is to pool it all together into a particular global database - tasked with billions of sensors working in overdrive. So how do we do that? We make what we already have, but smarter. 

Set-ups like the Internet of Things Consortium have tasked themselves to educate companies about the power of IoT. “The IoTC educates technology firms, retailers, insurance companies, marketers, media companies and the wider business community about the value of IoT.” IoTC talks about the distinct shift from the Information Age towards the Intelligence age, the equipping up-to-age technology that can help better our everyday lives. So exactly how will this work? How does Web 3.0 and the IoT weave in seamlessly into our everyday lives? (watch the video)

The IoT is a lot bigger than everyone thinks. Even in Singapore, IoT conventions are held yearly where the next IoT Asia 2016 is held from 30 - 31 March at the Singapore Expo. They focus on the exploration of 6 main aspects of the future Web 3.0 - smart cities, wearables, design applications, enablers, industrial IoT and IoT data analytics. Many incorporated into homes and are ranked accordingly to usage/need of the preferences of the homeowner. 

As seen in the infographic, smart refrigerators would enable viewing of contents from outside of the fridge and recommend recipes based on the ingredients already present. Or even things like tooth brushing habits that could be sent to the dentist to help improve your dental practices. The IoT - as I’ve mentioned before, is to use what you already have and make it smarter. Many of these innovations are envisioned to be installed or ready by 2020 - a mere 5 years to go. Which is insane, considering that’s when the majority of the new Singapore MRT Line is ready. How prepared will Singapore be in moving towards the new IoT? How accepting will we be? Can it be weaved into this young’s country IT climate? We’ll just have to wait and see.

ZNXL

p.s It’s almost Christmas in less than a month!

The concept of Citizen journalism (also known as "public," "participatory", "democratic", "guerrilla" or "street" journalism) is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing, and disseminating news and information."

Citizen journalism is the new know-how. Personal accounts of those who are there right on the scene of the event - documented, uploaded and usually viral within minutes. In this growing world of “who’s the fastest”, mainstream media has taken upon themselves to utilize the vast amount of information there is on the net of a particular incident. However, this also means breaking news is no longer - breaking. Indeed, mainstream media’s role in covering notable events has changed. It is not as though a reporter could anticipate every significant event that’s about to occur. But those found in these circumstances (sometimes, not the best place to be) are the new sources of immediate coverage. Mainstream media news articles are now made up of contributions by citizen journalists (with attribution - hopefully). That is how journalism is evolving. 

Mainstream media is moving towards being a consolidator, weaving in context through the personal accounts of the people on the street, checking, double checking, triple checking if the information holds true. This is how 21st-century journalism works. Some might disagree that this is a bad shift for the mainstream media - where the society should take on a more passive role and receive news from “credible” news outlets. I’d like to challenge that notion.

Journalism is about stating facts - no opinions, no bias (unless an opinion piece). Of course, that is highly unattainable because perfection isn’t anyone’s thing. The role of journalists, be it mainstream or netizen contributed should be just a presentation of facts. It can be coupled with contexts, additional information to create a truthful story behind it. But ultimately, judgement lies on the reader - the journalist does not make the decision for the people. 

But with citizen journalism, there is the notion of reality and the fake. Mainstream media outlets have more to lose when they produce an unchecked news article - its years of reputation, dampen. However, netizens can just upload a photo/video under a pseudo name, keep his or her identity hidden. It is then, as readers to make judgement and fact-check on your account - to ensure what is said is true. This is when mainstream media is used to cross-reference for consistency. This is how 21st-century journalism works. 

In the video below, Erin Finicane - a citizen student journalist, gives tips on how you too, can be a citizen journalist. To uncover social problems that the mainstream media has failed to addressed, to shine light on a problem that needs to be eradicated. 

What do you think of this new age journalism? Is it fair to mainstream news outlet who have worked centuries to produce news for its people? Or is citizen journalism - a complementary outlet to the mainstream outlets? Or does mainstream news outlet even hold a place as our source of information anymore?

ZNXL