CCT300+Labs

=__Lab 2__ = =**//Why is the definition of genre controversial and not so applicable to the formation of digital genres? //** =

=**//You may use the iPhone as a case.//** =

The digital environment today is a vast, convergence of media formats available on a variety of devices. No longer is the television set the only means for watching TV shows. TV shows are widely available online as well which makes it possible to watch them on computers, laptops, and even some smart phones. Music can be listened too not only and the radio or cd player, but through portable media players, through your computer, and sometimes stream through you home theatre.

The iPhone is a prime example of such a digital convergence. Sure its called an "iPhone", but what it can do far surpasses just a phone. It can be used to browse the web, check email, play games, listen to music, watch movies and tv shows, take pictures etc. The feature list for such a device goes on and on. It is slowly replacing out computers, defining its own market; mobile computers. It is difficult for genres to apply to such a device simply because of what it is capable of. An example of this apps from famous people such as Chris Bosh. Chris Bosh has an app on the iPhone App Store that contains information about himself, his game stats, a look into his life off the court and so on. It is a way for fans to connect with Chris through their phones. What genre would this apply too? Is it a sports app? A social app? A news app? With the vast capabilities of digital devices like the iPhone, the genre classification system may no longer apply thanks to the complexities of the digital media realm.

=**__Lab 10__ ** =

 Google News is in my opinion an excellent source for news on the web. It exceeds in both functionality as well as transparency. The functionality of the site is ver easy to use and understand. Google is known for being an excellent search engine, and it has incorporated that same search engine into its new site. That way, users are able to quickly search the Google News site and even the entire web. The site is regularly updated based on the frequency of new articles. What makes Google News unique from other news sites is that it is essentially a gateway to the article on the web. Thus, each story link links to the primary source site where the news was originally posted. Google news also allows you to customize what stories you would like to appear on the homepage. To ensure credibility, there are no grammatical errors, broken links, or pop ups throughout the website. The transparency of Google News is also very good. Because each link is a link to the actual article, the reader is automatically directed to its main source. Each link also displays the time as to when it was posted.

MSN.ca is the other news site I choose to analyze. MSN.ca is very different from Google News. Its transparency may be adequate, but I personally feel it is not as functional as Google News. For example, there is no option to only display the news categories that interest you. The search also in my opinion is not as effective as Google’s search as the results can sometimes be slightly off topic. There are no broken links but there is much mroe advertising on the page than on Google News which can confuse the reader. In-spite of this, MSN.ca is a reputable news site because each story link does provide its source. Though unlink Google News, each link links to another page within the MSN site displaying the article, instead of directly to the main source website.