TOPIC 1 wk 2 Q.A
a) p. 2 With Windows Vista replacing XP and Office 2007 replacing Office 2003, (and so on), what is ‘upgrade culture’ all about? Is some new media change just consumerism thought up by big business?
'Upgrading' is an idealist view on technological change. Lister speaks of idealism in regards to how our culture view new media and it's ever-evolving transformation. However, if many find new upgrades hard to grasp, this surely cannot always be idealistic? For example, there has been a divide in lecturers in whether they prefer Blackboard to the Virtual Campus. In Media's case, we still use an 800x600 website (very old!). I personally find this incredibly hard to navigate in comparison to Blackboard, however it takes a lot more 'getting to grips with'. If digital media is supposed to make our lives easier, it is understandable why many may choose to give up with upgrades and stick to what they know.
In regards to this idea, I feel in noteworthy to mention my Xmas experience.
I wanted to have a PC for Xmas to replace my university laptop (which was OK for work but couldn't handle anything more complicated.) I found a great site that allowed me to put custom parts together in order to get the best and most personalised choice for myself. However, the one thing that was fixed was the Windows installation. This happened to be Windows Vista (the newest addition to Windows software.)
I'd personally heard mixed reviews on Vista, hearing it was hard to grasp with many applications harder to get to from an administrators perspective. It took a lot of work but I managed to change my deal so I got Windows XP instead of Vista. Strangely - this cost me more.
So, in regards to consumerism - it seems that sometimes the businesses make more money from the people trying not to upgrade than the ones who change with the times. I know eventually I will have to change to Vista, as everything that was once on XP is slowly being fazed out.
This leads me on to talk about video games.
Similarly to the idea I just spoke about, video games have to change with the times too. You may have heard of the 'console wars' between Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PS3. The war is between each console trying to 'outdo' or 'out power' the other. This is especially relevant between the Xbox 360 and the PS3.
The PS2 was the biggest selling last generation console, with more games dedicated to it than any other platform. When the PS3 was in development, however, things seemed to go downhill.
There are many arguments suggesting that Sony did not market their product with good advertising. The general idea is that Sony believed people would shell out for their upgraded technology because they won the previous 'top of the consoles' battle with the PS2.
However, with the PS3 costing £100-£200 more than the runner up Xbox 360, it seemed many gamers did not want to spend so much money without knowing they were getting a good deal. Sony had talked a lot about having the most power, but when it came to games they seemed to be 'shtum'. When the PS3 was finally put on the market, many of the promised 'console dedicated' games never appeared for it's title. It seems Sony didn't think they needed to convince their developers their product would make them money either.
At the moment, the Xbox 360 is selling far more consoles than the PS3 (who at this point are losing money on every console). It is mainly argued that the Xbox has more games, is easier to play and doesn't cost the earth.
In conclusion, I believe that businesses see upgrade culture as a possibility to make money, whether this be from the ones hanging on to the last generation technology, the battle to be the best in their field, or just the general idea that we need to improve with the times.
New versions of technology have a way of pushing consumers to shell out, whatever their motive may be.
'Upgrading' is an idealist view on technological change. Lister speaks of idealism in regards to how our culture view new media and it's ever-evolving transformation. However, if many find new upgrades hard to grasp, this surely cannot always be idealistic? For example, there has been a divide in lecturers in whether they prefer Blackboard to the Virtual Campus. In Media's case, we still use an 800x600 website (very old!). I personally find this incredibly hard to navigate in comparison to Blackboard, however it takes a lot more 'getting to grips with'. If digital media is supposed to make our lives easier, it is understandable why many may choose to give up with upgrades and stick to what they know.
In regards to this idea, I feel in noteworthy to mention my Xmas experience.
I wanted to have a PC for Xmas to replace my university laptop (which was OK for work but couldn't handle anything more complicated.) I found a great site that allowed me to put custom parts together in order to get the best and most personalised choice for myself. However, the one thing that was fixed was the Windows installation. This happened to be Windows Vista (the newest addition to Windows software.)
I'd personally heard mixed reviews on Vista, hearing it was hard to grasp with many applications harder to get to from an administrators perspective. It took a lot of work but I managed to change my deal so I got Windows XP instead of Vista. Strangely - this cost me more.
So, in regards to consumerism - it seems that sometimes the businesses make more money from the people trying not to upgrade than the ones who change with the times. I know eventually I will have to change to Vista, as everything that was once on XP is slowly being fazed out.
This leads me on to talk about video games.
Similarly to the idea I just spoke about, video games have to change with the times too. You may have heard of the 'console wars' between Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PS3. The war is between each console trying to 'outdo' or 'out power' the other. This is especially relevant between the Xbox 360 and the PS3.
The PS2 was the biggest selling last generation console, with more games dedicated to it than any other platform. When the PS3 was in development, however, things seemed to go downhill.
There are many arguments suggesting that Sony did not market their product with good advertising. The general idea is that Sony believed people would shell out for their upgraded technology because they won the previous 'top of the consoles' battle with the PS2.
However, with the PS3 costing £100-£200 more than the runner up Xbox 360, it seemed many gamers did not want to spend so much money without knowing they were getting a good deal. Sony had talked a lot about having the most power, but when it came to games they seemed to be 'shtum'. When the PS3 was finally put on the market, many of the promised 'console dedicated' games never appeared for it's title. It seems Sony didn't think they needed to convince their developers their product would make them money either.
At the moment, the Xbox 360 is selling far more consoles than the PS3 (who at this point are losing money on every console). It is mainly argued that the Xbox has more games, is easier to play and doesn't cost the earth.
In conclusion, I believe that businesses see upgrade culture as a possibility to make money, whether this be from the ones hanging on to the last generation technology, the battle to be the best in their field, or just the general idea that we need to improve with the times.
New versions of technology have a way of pushing consumers to shell out, whatever their motive may be.
Labels: Week 2
posted by Joanne at
16:09
4 Comments:
I like your examples, Joanne, however, could you please define the 800x600 website you mentioned? Perhaps a little referencing here would make your argument seem less one-sided. I think you make a great point about companies not only making money through people upgrading, but also by those who want to keep that they've already got.
Sorry! What I mean by 800x600 is the width of the computer screen. most these days are two sizes larger than what is displayed on the MCC Home page and it makes the site look dated. Hope that clears it up :) Thanks for the comments!
I think the topics you raised are very good, however it could probably do with being a bit more summarised because Dave said they are only suppose to be between 100 - 300 words ish and this is very lengthy.
To be honest, I struggle summarising points as well as the rest of you. They just end up looking like I've copied someones work! I'll talk to Sue about it though.
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