Second Life as a Disruptive Technology

How many people wish that they had a better job, a better home or even better looks? Second Life gives people a forum to fulfill their fantasies in a safe environment. People are interested in fantasy look at all the science fiction movies about the future and what may or may not be possible.

I believe that Second Life gives people an outlet to do something that they would never do in real life or are scared to try. In education we tell our students that they can be anything they want to be when they grow up if they work hard. In a virtual reality world they can experience it in a safe environment. For example my friends’ 10 year old daughter joined a virtual reality site and is building a house with characters. At first I thought this was kind of strange then I thought about it, when I was her age I had a dollhouse with dolls and cars, her virtual reality world is an upgrade. She can pick what her dolls look like, change their looks as well as make them speak.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1651500,00.html

Rhymes of History

The cellular phone has been around since the 60s and 70s. When they first came out only business people, military, and those with money were able to afford to have one. I remember as a kid growing up in the 80s watching tv shows and the characters would have car phones. Cell phones became more mainstream as well as smaller in the late 90s it wasn't unsual to go to the mall and see people with a cell phone. Now a days you can't hardly pass someone on the street without them using a cell phone. The price and services provided has come down and now everyone can afford to have one.

The cell phone brings back the sense of staying connected. For decades people have kept in touch with each other using letters and phones. With mainstreaming of cell phones and web enabled phones this has become easier to do.

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa070899.htm

Module 2

The camera has been around for thousands of years from the pinhole camera to the digital camera. With the invention of the digital camera and adding features such as uploading, cropping, backgrounds, and even recording there’s nothing you cannot do with it. The digital camera enhances our day to day living by capturing moments that you don’t want to forget or want to share with others, being by pictures or video. You can also use these pictures to tell stories or history like the hieroglyphics in pyramids. We can already see the future of the camera; almost every cell phone has a camera. The newer the cell phone the better the camera. In the future I foresee, companies making an all in one camera and cell phone as well as a camera that you don’t hold but can take pictures by just looking at it.

http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/a/stilphotography.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01824/