2010's Telecommunication 

Telecommunications 2010's.mp4

Telecommunications in the 2010's

For the most part the 2010's and telecommunications was about improving upon the technology we have recently discovered.  New technology has been emerging for nearly 20 years at a record pace and Americans were still figuring out what to do with it all.  Americans had bought in heavily to the idea of instant access to information and multimedia and with that we saw the development of the smartphone and it's accompanying applications, more commonly known as apps.  The social network Facebook had exploded in the 2000's and created a way of digital social engagement that had never before been experienced and the idea of virtualization was a major theme of the 2010s.  

Social media platforms multiplied at a staggering rate with the creation of platforms like Instagram, Tik-Tok, Snapchat and others.  These platforms become the major source of social engagement for many Americans and leads to a deterioration of fact as Americans look to project an image they want rather than one based in fact or reality.  This spreads from entertainment into the news, education and politics and causes a major information disruption.  At a time with the most access to information than any other time in history it also becomes the most confusing as to what to believe and what to discredit.

With this need to stay connected we also see the development of tablet commuters that take the power of a full-size computer and condense it to the size of a picture frame.  Apple introduced this revolutionary technology with the iPad in the early 2010's and this development spawned a whole new world of computing on the go.

Technology is definitely changing, both Americans and our society in the 2010's.

Tasks

Task 1: Watch the Introductory Video to this Unit (5 minutes)

Task 2: Review Technology Included on Bracket and Conduct Research (45 minutes)

Task 3: Prepare for Bracket Debate (5 minutes)

Task 4: Sweet 16 Bracket of 2010’ Social Media (45 minutes) 

The 2010’s brought with it a lot of innovation, but perhaps the most influential change technology brought us was the mass expansion of social media.  Social media changed the way we interacted with one another, what was important to many Americans and it reinforced the ideas of projecting perfection.

The Bracket:

2010's Social Media Bracket

Gaming

This decade brought a lot of change to the world of gaming from online streaming to improved graphics to powerful gaming systems that fit in the palm of your hand, like the Nintendo Switch.  Gaming has gone from something you did to escape reality to becoming a reality all to itself.  Virtual reality made a comeback with the development of Oculus which took the heavy headset out of VR gaming and introduced lightweight systems that link to powerful systems like the PlayStation.  As gaming culture expands so does its influence and before long esports emerged that gave computer gamers a way to compete for fame a prizes, the military has found ways to leverage gaming technology to train troops and schools use the technology to help students explore the world.  Gaming has become so big online live streaming platforms like Twitch have gained huge success as Americans no longer want to simply play games they want to connect with other players and interact with them as they compete.  

Virtual Reality

The year 2016, when the first commercial Oculus Rift and HTC Vive units shipped, was a major milestone for virtual reality. Sure, they were clunky, expensive, and uncomfortable. The base stations for motion sensors were a pain in the ass to set up, but it was science fiction in your living room. Windows Mixed Reality headsets from Lenovo, Samsung, HP, and more followed, taking advantage of Valve’s SteamVR platform to offer more affordable VR PC gaming hardware.

Outside of the PC gaming space, the PlayStation VR brought the experience to consoles, and mobile virtual reality was all the rage with ranges like Google Cardboard and Samsung’s Gear VR collaboration with Oculus.

While strapping your smartphone to your face is thankfully falling out of fashion, PC VR is becoming more refined and affordable in a relatively short time frame. The latest generation of headsets sports improved displays as well as innovations such as better inside-out tracking cameras. The Valve Index, the latest challenger in the race, touts the long-awaited “knuckles” controllers. Finally, your VR avatar will have real fingers instead of claw-like grabber hands. (https://www.pcinvasion.com/hindsight-2020-looking-back-on-the-decade-of-virtual-reality/ )

Twitch

Livestreaming has become one of the most popular forms of online entertainment today.

Websites such as Twitch, YouTube and Microsoft’s Mixer are capitalizing on livestreaming by incorporating another form of popular media: video games. According to Newzoo, the video game industry raked in an estimated $138 billion in 2018.

When Twitch launched back in 2011, the company focused on esports and gaming. During the site’s launch, Twitch had close to 3.2 million unique visitors per month. In 2012, the site grew to 20 million visitors per month, and by 2014, tech giants Amazon and Google both tried to acquire the site.

Today, it’s one of the biggest platforms for streamers such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. The site has over 3 million monthly streamers on the platform. (https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/26/history-of-twitch-gaming-livestreaming-and-youtube.html )

Social Media

Over the past 10 years, social media has largely evolved from keeping in touch with others to flaunting what we have for attention or curating unrecognizable versions of our real selves.  We went from draining our data plans and digitally poking friends on Facebook to being constantly immersed in an endless sea of memes. Social media's influence has undermined political elections and changed the way we communicate while perpetually raising questions concerning privacy.  

After over a decade of scrolling, thumbs-upping, swiping and double-tapping, it's safe to say that social media isn't going anywhere anytime soon.  (https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/12/19/end-decade-heres-how-social-media-has-evolved-over-10-years/4227619002/ )

Instagram

Snap Chat

Tik Tok

Tablet Computers

A tablet, tablet computer, or tablet PC is a mobile computing device designed to be held in one or two hands. It is approximately the size of  a hardcover book (seven inches or bigger), and resembles a large smartphone.   Tablets let you do many of the same things as a traditional computer. They can browse the Internet, connect to social network apps, and display HD videos. They excel at applications that do not require a large amount of precise user input.  Today all tablets use a touch screen as their primary input device with the option to connect external devices, such as a keyboard. (https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/t/tablet.htm )

Introducing the iPad.mp4

The iPad is Released

After the iPhone became a hit, rumors swirled around tablet plans, with conflicting reports what a product would be called and what it might do. Finally, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPad on Jan. 27, 2010 at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco — immediately setting off waves of both anticipation and skepticism. 

Preorders began on March 12, 2010 ahead of an Apr. 3 U.S. release date at Apple's online and outlet stores. Initially, only Wi-Fi models were available — 3G-capable models had to wait until Apr. 30, and then could only be used with AT&T in either unlimited or 250-megabyte plans. It wouldn't be until May 28 that any iPad was available outside the U.S.

Thanks to the company's takeover of PA Semi, the iPad was the first product to use an Apple-designed processor, the A4. It also featured a 9.7-inch, 1024-by-768-pixel display, and options for 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of storage.

The tablet's signature achievement was bringing the iPhone's multi-touch interface to a much larger display, allowing it behave more like a laptop. Though it still lacked an open filesystem or much customization, Apple developed a custom version of the iPhone OS for it, for instance letting people use apps and the homescreen in any orientation — unlike the iPhone, which at the time was strictly vertical.

The product also heralded the arrival of iBooks and the iBookstore, with the anticipation that people would want to read books, magazines, and newspapers in the new format. Apple's collusion with publishers to fight Amazon's dominance of e-books would eventually result in severe legal reprimands.

Sales of the iPad were strong out of the gate. More than 300,000 were sold at launch, and by May 3, 1 million. Towards the end of the year, iPads were outselling Macs on a quarterly basis. (https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/04/03/a-brief-history-of-the-ipad-apples-once-and-future-tablet )

Podcasting

 Podcasting combines the freedom of blogging with digital audio technology to create an almost endless supply of content. Some say this new technology is democratizing the once corporate-run world of radio.  Podcasting is a free service that allows Internet users to pull audio files (typically MP3s) from a podcasting Web site to listen to on their computers or personal digital audio players. The term comes from a combination of the words iPod (a personal digital audio player made by Apple) and broadcasting. Even though the term is derived from the iPod, you don't need an iPod to listen to a podcast. You can use virtually any portable media player or your computer.

­Unlike Internet radio, users don't have to 'tune in' to a particular broadcast. Instead, they download the podcast on demand or subscribe via an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed, which automatically downloads the podcast to their computers. The technology is similar to that used by TiVo, a ­personal video recorder that lets users set which programs they'd like to record and then automatically records those programs for later viewing. (https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/podcasting.htm )

The Podcast Revolution

Podcasting was developed in 2004 by former MTV video jockey Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer. Curry wrote a program, called iPodder,that enabled him to automatically download Internet radio broadcasts to his iPod. Several developers improved upon his idea, and podcasting was officially born. Curry now hosts a show called The Daily Source Code, one of the most popular podcasts on the Internet.

Right now, podcasting is free from government regulation. Podcasters don't need to buy a license to broadcast their programming, as radio stations do, and they don't need to conform to the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) broadcast decency regulations. That means anything goes -- from four-letter words to sexually explicit content. Copyright law does apply to podcasting, though. Podcasters can copyright or license their work -- Creative Commons is just one online resource for copyrights and licenses.

Although several corporations and big broadcast companies have ventured into the medium, many podcasters are amateurs broadcasting from home studios. Because podcasters don't rely on ratings as radio broadcasters do, the subject matter of podcasts can range from the refined to the silly to the excruciatingly mundane. Podcasters typically cater to a niche group of listeners. By podcasting consistently on one subject, podcasters not only assert their expertise on the subject matter but also draw a loyal and devoted group of listeners. (https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/podcasting1.htm#:~:text=Podcasting%20was%20developed%20in%202004,and%20podcasting%20was%20officially%20born. )