Monday, January 31, 2011

Blog Assignment #2


I listen to music through my iPod like 70% of the time. The other 30% I listen to it from my computer. Most of the time I am having a shower, driving or using my computer while I listen to it. If I get tired of my iPod while driving, I would put the radio on in order for me to know about new songs, but that does not happen very often. Obviously, if I go to a bar (which happens like two times a week), I'll be exposed to continuous loud music for hours.
I LOVE music. My life would be nothing without music. Since I was little, I've been always interested in how to play instruments and how to sing. I took piano, guitar y singing classes. I am not a professional in any of those instruments, but I know peculiar things about music. I like everything, from samba to blues. I also write songs. Music fulfills my soul. I think it is one of the most creative ways of expression. Just like Friedrich Nietzsche said: "Without music, life would be an error."

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blog Assignment #1


My name is Laura, I am from Panama and I'm 20 years old. I study Communications with a minor in Business and I'm a junior. I'm not constantly seeking new electronic toys. If I see something that I like I will get it eventually but it's not something that I constantly look for. I usually wait a while after the product is launched so that I can get a cheaper price. I like electronic devices because they make your life easier and they provide more variety. However, I dislike the fact that there is less face-to-face communication. In addition, I'm not a fan that cool and old devices get replaced and forgotten like the Nintendo NES, phonographs, etc.

I don't use the radio quite much. My experience with it is hearing the DJs speak on and on, and the signal was not quite good sometimes. That's why I rather listening to my iPod or a CD. If I happen to not have any of those I don't mind listening to the radio but I will get tired of it eventually. I think it's actually good to listen to it sometimes because I get updated on one or two new songs.
My family and friends use it mostly in their cars every day.

Since the radio is the cheapest, easiest and one of the oldest ways to get information, I don't think it will go anywhere in the future. There are a lot of poor people that hear the news or music that way only. In the worst-case scenario, if there is a crisis like a flooding or a hurricane, I think people are more likely to carry the radio with them instead of other communication devices because it's portable (the battery ones don't depend on electricity in case there is a power outage) and smaller than other communication devices. By saying that radio is "one of the oldest ways to get information" as one of its benefits, I mean that older people know how to use it. It's not a complicated device, that's why older people don't look down on it.
Obviously, it has developed like every other communication device. Now we have the satellite radio, which its signal is transmitted through one or more satellites. Therefore, it can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations.
I believe that the satellite radio, neither other future modernized radios will succeed as much as the traditional one did. I think it will be very complicated for future modernized radios to beat ten years to reach 50% of U.S. household penetration and being the number one communication technology.