Flash/Streaming Intergration

I chose to look at the Pearl Jam AOL Sessions site. http://music.aol.com/videos/sessions/sessions_flash.adp?defaultCovers=553,563,560&defaultID=553&ncid=AOLMUS00050000000019
The main site starts out with a photo of the band and menus in flash that allow you to choose what track to watch. There is also a button that allows you to adjust the video settings to high, medium or low, depending upon your connection speed. I was using a UW computer so I was able to choose the high setting. It was set up in such a way that you had the option of playing all videos, or choosing individual tracks which was great. The video and audio quality was decent, but with movement the video struggled a bit. Overall I had a positive experience.

Week 1 in-class assignment

KEXP.org

I looked at the KEXP website to evaluate and explore what it had to offer in the way of streaming media. I was pleased to find that it had a lot of content to offer in a user-friendly format. In contrast, I often look at NPR's website and am overwhelmed by the abundance of information on their main page. KEXP.org has clear categories to help direct you to the media you are trying to find. Whether it is a podcast, streaming live broadcasts, streaming media from the archieve, searching within categories of the archieve, it is all very clear.

I, like many other people my age, have a short attention span. I like to have a lot of choices, but I also like to be able to navigate those choices with efficiency, clarity and speed. Why do you think Google works so well?

A-ha week 1 reading

My "a-ha" from this week's reading is that digital technology, such as online versions of textbooks on Amazon.com, are not perfect. While it is a great concept, it continually froze my computer preventing me from completeing the reading. Because the Print option will only allow you to print one page at a time, it was not a practical solution to the problem. I should recieve the hardcopy of the book tomorrow, at which time I can actually complete the reading and re-post my "a-ha."