I've actually got to say that when I was first told that we were going to be watching this my first thought was, "This is going to be terrible." My opinion was based on the sheer fact of all the stories I'd heard of Craigslist and had a negative opinion of it.
After we began watching it, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it! Not going to lie though, our little corner kept making jokes through most of the movie and that increased the enjoyment about ten fold.
Listening to all the different stories, all the different categories, all the ads, etc; it was all very interesting. After watching this documentary I have to say that my opinion of Craigslist has changed. I have a more positive opinion, but I am still very weary of using it. Its so easy to get scammed on Craigslist if you aren't paying attention, but most are easy to spot of you watch.
All in all, Craigslist isn't a bad website like I originally thought. I don't think I'll really use it, but I won't try to warn people away from it either. Its a matter of opinion and if you want to use Craigslist, go for it. Just please be careful.
I also still wanna know who this "Craig" in Craigslist is. Its a mystery the world will never solve perhaps.
- Jess
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Creative Commons
I’ve always known of Creative Commons but I’ve never really known a lot about Creative Commons. Our lesson in class really taught me a lot more than I ever thought I needed to know about it. Creative Commons is a beautiful thing so you can bypass all the hassle of trying to get permission to use content. I know I’ll be paying a lot more attention to all Copyrights and Creative Commons that from now on so that I do not use some one's work in way they originally did not intend.
In this blog post I'll give my opinion on various photo and music sites based on Creative Commons. I hope you enjoy!
Photo Sites:
Flickr is a photo site that allows its users to upload pictures into albums to share with the internet. They also give each individual photo its own Copyrite and custom Creative Commons licences if the creator so wishes to have one.The advanced search allows users to search for a certain type of photo and, if they wish to use it, search for photos only with a creative commons. Yahoo!, who is the provider of Flickr, has stated in their terms of service that Yahoo! claims no ownership of anything that is submitted to Flickr.
Open Clip Art is a website of nothing but clip art. Clip art can be used to spice up a presentation or anything that just seems dull, in case you didn’t know what clip art was. Their library seems to have a total of 34277 individual clipart, which seems to give a good variety for any search one needs to do. The whole website is under CC0, which states that unless noted all content is free to use for whatever purpose. That makes things real simple for people just looking for a small picture.
Commons.wikimedia hosts material that can be freely used under the Creative Commons. Its like Open Clip Art, just with text, photos, videos, etc. Commons.wikimedia is under the CC0, which makes things a breeze. According to the link on the “free use”, everything on the website is meant for people who wish to remix and reuse materials.
Google images is just a search engine to find random pictures. Finding whatever you’re looking for can be easy, just make sure your safe search is on unless you want to see “Rule 34” of anything you type in. Finding the creative commons on Google Images isn’t impossible, but its not exactly easy either.
Music:
Jamendo is the first of the music sites. Users are allowed to download and share the music on Jamendo; and paid users can have access to royalty free background music and music licenses. The music library contains over 333 thousand tracks available for free.
Archive we’ve covered before. Archive is a whole website of open source, free material for anyone to use. Their music selection is varied out into many different categories with a total number by each selection.
ClassicCat is a website full of classical music. I think I like this one a lot, just because I am a fan of Classical Music. The categories are separated by each composer’s name so everything is easy to find if you know what you’re looking for. All mp3s are free for anyone and everyone to use for whatever they need.
A free to download site for children’s music. The site is updated whenever new music gets added to the site and their list of artists is separated into five categories titled “Artists 1-4” and “Traditional.” Practical. If you know what you’re looking for the site is easy to use....other than that you have no reason being on this site.
iSound is a site full of popular music. Type in the artists and it’ll show you a list of of songs and related artists. All songs on the site are free to download, but you are NOT allowed to use distribute or use the music you download for anything other than private listening. They aren’t very clear about that and unless you actually go looking to make sure, you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.
-Jess
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
How to use your money to watch movies
Boxee is a nice media service. With their selection of TV shows and movies, you’re more than likely to find something you’ll want to watch. Boxee has the ability to connect your Netflix and your Grooveshark Anywhere account, it can be very useful for just sitting around.
The paid service of Hulu. Hulu+ gives you more viewing options, more seasons, more movies, and very little commercials. Hulu+ seems like a nice service, but compared to other services, I’d rather use Netflix.
YouTube Movies is a paid service of the video site YouTube. For a certain fee you can rent movies for a certain amount of time and watch them anywhere as long as you’re logged into your YouTube account. The renting aspect may be their downfall though, because other paid movie sites, you pay one fee and you own it. The renting fee won’t keep them in the game long more than likely.
Netflix is a nice movie, TV show distributor that has the main focus of streaming movies and shows. They used to have the DVD service, but they’ve sold that off that completely. I use my friend’s Netflix, so I use it quite a lot. I watch mostly TV shows and I’m very pleased with the TV selection. There’s barely anything not on there that I want to watch.
Blockbuster seems to have a one up on Netflix just because they offer games as well as movies. Blockbuster offers streaming movies, but unlike Netflix they have not sold off their DVD service. Their selection is very nice and the game choice is excellent. I may actually consider trying out Blockbuster.
Amazon Prime is an upgraded version of Amazon, charging $79 a year for membership; included in that is Amazon Instant Video so you won’t have to worry about the renting costs. This service also provides better shipping deals, no minimum order size, etc when ordering from Amazon.
Amazon Instant Video is nothing but streaming video. They have a nice selection of movies to choose from, both regular and HD, and even have a nice selection of TV shows like House, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Supernatural, and many more. With their wide variety it may not be a surprise why Amazon Instant Video is becoming more popular day after day. If you get this service without Amazon Prime, you can rent movies for a certain price each time.
A service offered by Verizon. That surprised me quite a bit actually. For six dollars a month, you can have unlimited movie downloads and that’s it. Starz is a movie channel so unless they would start offering their “Starz original series” that’s all anyone is going to get. Without actually getting an account, the movie selection is not very wide. The information page give you five pages of movies, and in my opinion, there were only five movies from all the pages that I would watch again. They do offer a lot of the newer movies, but that’s probably their only advantage.
From first opening the site you’re greeted by a large selection of movie covers, both older and newer. That’s a nice touch, but you’re also shown how you can view Vudu. You can use Vudu by HDTV, game consoles, iPad, computers, and blu-ray players. Vudu is available without monthly subscription or contract. The have no late fees and thousands of movies are available to rent for just two dollars for two nights. I seriously think I may try out Vudu.
- Jess
Monday, October 17, 2011
Video Sites~
Vimeo seems like a different version of youtube, but I’m just comparing that because I’ve been on youtube for years. Uploading and sharing are easy to do and the site itself seems very helpful with anything you need help with. There’s a help forum where users can even help each other.
Metacafe seems family friendly. You can turn filter on and off and keep little Johnny away from things he doesn’t need to see. There are channels for video games, movie trailers, site exclusives, originals, and much more. It seems like any other website really. There even seems to be something you can download for your desktop and get on metacafe that way.
Hulu seems like it is more for TV shows than it is for other videos. I found a few non TV related videos, but it wasn’t much of a selection. I actually couldn't find anything for a paid service, but the site does seem a little complicated. You cannot upload your own videos.
I’ve used youtube for going about 5 years. I’ve uploaded my share of videos, done my share of watching and what not. This is probably the most popular of the the video websites. From my time on there I’ve never really seen a paid service, until the movie rentals came out. Doesn’t seem like a big deal to me. You can create playlists, add things on others’ videos, you can have up to ten minutes, but somehow people can get up to ten hours worth of video. I still don’t see how.
The website is very bland. It seems to be just a video search website for videos in public use and whatnot. I just can’t think of anything else to put for this.
Dailymotion seems to have many categories for everything, but it really just seems like a watered down version of youtube. There is a little bit of anything, but there’s still not as much as one would thing. You can upload your own videos and whatnot so that’s a plus.
Megavideo is a site where you can upload your own stuff, but people can download the original file of it. Its very easy for people to steal your work if you’ve worked hard on it. Unlike in youtube, where you can only download your own videos, with permission anyway.
This is nothing but documentaries, it compiles videos from a whole bunch of different sites and puts it into one site. The side bar shows different subjects of documentations. Very educational.
I love this site so much. Nerd heaven. Seriously. Videos, flash animation, flash games, art, music, etc. This site has a lot to offer from humorous to serious. I know I’ve spent a lot of my time on here. You can even get achievements for certain things you do like games and certain videos. Blog, chats, forums, this site has a little bit of everything.
As far as I know, you can’t upload your own stuff. This site is really just a bunch of random skit videos that the people of the site uploaded. Most of them are very funny, but some of them aren’t that great. Its also a bit of a blog for random things.
This looks to be an educational video site or open source video. I can’t really tell the two apart. The have rather in depth categories to separate things. That’s about it.
A website dedicated to nothing but cars and car related videos. With videos from showing off cars to car accidents, the site looks like it could provide a few hours of entertainment. You can upload your own stuff so that’s a plus.
Myspace branched out to host videos. You can upload videos to your myspace account and share it with other myspace users. That seems to be the only real plus to it, especially since Myspace is pretty much dead.
With only four categories to choose from, break doesn’t seem to have a lot of content to look for. This website seems to be mostly for if you’re at work and have a few extra minutes, and you can get paid to upload videos.
The website for the popular TV channel, ABC hosts news and videos related to the shows they broadcast. Missed the new episode of your favorite show? ABC will have it up on their website within a few hours of it airing on TV. They have random clips, and TV schedules to make your user experience rather nice. They also have an online shop to buy merchandise of your favorite shows.
ABC.com but for a different channel. Same material pretty much all the way down. Just different shows. That is about it. News. Schedules. Previews. They also have links to their coporate website and job oppurtunities. Yay jobs!
A site to upload videos to input to your other websites. People that watch the video on Viddler can find your website through the video. They have a rather small selection to choose from though. They have a blog with site news. This is more for corporate use than anything.
Veoh is an uploading site for movies, TV shows, music, etc. They have groups and forums so you can find others with your interest. They have their downloader so you can keep the video for yourself. You can make playlists and other basic utlities for a video website. They have their own web player and can sign in through your FB account.
- Jess
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Music Sites
Here's my views on some of the more popular music streaming sites. :)
GrooveShark
Grooveshark is a very nice streaming website. Instead of listening to music like a radio station you can just make play lists of songs you want to listen to write then and there. It is much more convenient than trying to find something to listen to. I've actually had an account on grooveshark for about six months and I use it all the time. I'm very satisfied with it.
I use the free service, but with the payed service you can remove the ads that show up. Although, if you just use Google Chrome like I do, the ads are already gone and you don't have to worry. The paid services look like it can add up to be a lot with paying four to nine dollars a month. Doesn't seem worth it to me.
Pandora
I use the free service, but with the payed service you can remove the ads that show up. Although, if you just use Google Chrome like I do, the ads are already gone and you don't have to worry. The paid services look like it can add up to be a lot with paying four to nine dollars a month. Doesn't seem worth it to me.
Pandora
Pandora is one of the, if not the biggest of the internet radio websites. Just search for a genre, band, or song that you like and it will give songs that are related. Its nice if you just don't care what you want to listen too, but if you're like me and are extremely picky about what you want to hear, you may not use it that much. With limited skips each hour and day, it gets bit annoying when you cannot find a song you want even though every song on the play list is “related.”
I have an account on Pandora also, but I don't use it nearly as much as I do Grooveshark. The paid services of Pandora seem a little bit better than Grooveshark. The services gets rid of ads, upgrades audio quality, custom skins, desktop applications, and has fewer interruptions in between songs. That doesn't seem bad for thirty-six dollars a year, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.
SlackerRadio
SlackerRadio is like Pandora, but I like it better. The related songs are actually related most of the time and its stuff I like to listen to. They have a skip limit like Pandora, but I don't use it as much since they actually play music I want to hear. The interface is popular and I think in the future I may use it more than Pandora.
SlackerRadio has two types of paid services. Slacker Plus and Slacker Premium. Both services offer no ads, unlimited skips, mobile station catching, ABC News, ESPN News, and complete song lyrics. Premium offers more like playing songs and albums on demand, play single artist stations, cache albums and songs, and are able to create playlists. Its not as cheap as Pandora though since Plus is four dollars a month and Premium is 10 dollars a month.
SlackerRadio
SlackerRadio is like Pandora, but I like it better. The related songs are actually related most of the time and its stuff I like to listen to. They have a skip limit like Pandora, but I don't use it as much since they actually play music I want to hear. The interface is popular and I think in the future I may use it more than Pandora.
SlackerRadio has two types of paid services. Slacker Plus and Slacker Premium. Both services offer no ads, unlimited skips, mobile station catching, ABC News, ESPN News, and complete song lyrics. Premium offers more like playing songs and albums on demand, play single artist stations, cache albums and songs, and are able to create playlists. Its not as cheap as Pandora though since Plus is four dollars a month and Premium is 10 dollars a month.
Live365.com
This one I did not like all that much. It is setup almost exactly like a real radio, When you search for an artist or song, you get a list of stations that have played it recently. That's all well and good, but if I want to hear it, I want to hear it. I don't want to listen to a station and wait for it, and like a real radio station you get radio ads that annoy you to no end. Just like real life.
The paid services for Live365.com just seem like you pay money to make money. You can create radio stations and the more money you pay, the more simultaneous listeners you can have. I just don't like this one that much, but that's just me.
ShoutCast
Shoutcast was nice, but like Live365 you can only search for radio stations. Maybe its my pickyness coming out again, but I just prefer to listen to what I want at that moment. The radio stations were nice though, I could actually stand to listen to them for a little while when I found a good one.
Shoutcast paid services were kind of like Live365 in the fact you can be a DJ for other listeners. Other than that it didn't seem like a big deal to have the paid services, but maybe I missed something else. Or maybe I'm just being picky.
The paid services for Live365.com just seem like you pay money to make money. You can create radio stations and the more money you pay, the more simultaneous listeners you can have. I just don't like this one that much, but that's just me.
ShoutCast
Shoutcast was nice, but like Live365 you can only search for radio stations. Maybe its my pickyness coming out again, but I just prefer to listen to what I want at that moment. The radio stations were nice though, I could actually stand to listen to them for a little while when I found a good one.
Shoutcast paid services were kind of like Live365 in the fact you can be a DJ for other listeners. Other than that it didn't seem like a big deal to have the paid services, but maybe I missed something else. Or maybe I'm just being picky.
So it may not be my best work, but my reviews I feel are solid. Have a great day! :)
- Jess
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Things I'd like to see...
I guess if I have to think about it I could probably think of a couple of things I'd like to see or do in class. Maybe we could go more in depth with certain things, or just do an extremely random fun activity that would bring laughs to the entire class.
I'm terrible at thinking up stuff like this so I'm just going to stop. Sorry Matt.
- Jess
I'm terrible at thinking up stuff like this so I'm just going to stop. Sorry Matt.
- Jess
Google Earth and its pictures
Hey look! I took a picture!
Well, since I had to take a picture I thought I would take a picture of a place I want to visit before I die. Tokyo is a beautiful city. Japan in general is beautiful. Its filled with such a rich culture and interesting things and people. I'm jealous of a girl I know who is studying abroad over there right now. From the pictures she has posted, it looks like she's having a great time.
If I ever get to go to Japan, a big portion of my life will be complete. Everyone has their one place the want to visit, mine is Japan. :)
-Jess
Well, since I had to take a picture I thought I would take a picture of a place I want to visit before I die. Tokyo is a beautiful city. Japan in general is beautiful. Its filled with such a rich culture and interesting things and people. I'm jealous of a girl I know who is studying abroad over there right now. From the pictures she has posted, it looks like she's having a great time.
If I ever get to go to Japan, a big portion of my life will be complete. Everyone has their one place the want to visit, mine is Japan. :)
-Jess
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