Flash Journalism 2

http://www.smh.com.au/multimedia/darfur/darfurSMH.html

This very poignant interface design by the Sydney Morning Herald does a good job in illustrating the crisis of Darfur in Southern Sudan. The use of an Interactive map and a scroll tool for the children’s pictures provides even more of an idea of the socio-political situation of Sudan as well as the experiences of the children that grew up in the region. Viewing the latter section reminded me of the drawings children used to make when they were imprisoned at Auschwitz. I believe that the effective manner in which the victims are presented in this site really details the very tragic human story that has unfolded for decades.

Flash Journalism

http://www.startribune.com/local/11608761.html

I think this is a very good example of flash journalism. I feel that the multimedia presentation of natural sound, songs, interviewees voices in the introduction portray a very moving picture of a people that fled war and face the quandary of leaving their new homeland for a ruined nation. The scroll bar contained herein has several examples of individual interviews, Liberian church parishes in Minnesota and several other presentations that give a clear and professional presentation of New Americans.

Random Number Generator

http://www.random.org/integers/

This website seem to be the most suitable that I have found in random number generation. I feel that such a program can be converted to use in any flash project that requires such a necessary device. Not only does it generate random integers but also narrows down values and formats them into columns. Also for the more experienced user there is the option of choosing a numeral system and an output format.

The use of interactive scroll tool

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/japan/japan-map

Here is an example that is most familiar to individuals that have used Google. The engine that Google uses provides a quick and easy visual overview of the area, quite similar to the Brazil example that I provided earlier. Upon clicking on the blue icons the user is prompted to a link detailing either tourist attractions or a map for the more experienced individual. I think that this example is straight forward, visually concise and devoid of clutter.

Another effective use of Interactive maps

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html

This website displays the poignant example of how War affects the home front. I like how the designers made a simple site with a growing perforation of dots marking the casualties accorded to each region in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Once clicked on the dot become a person and the user is prompted to share memories and thoughts about the individual. Also included are bar graphs of The average ages, locations and dates of death. Overall this is an excellent site dedicated to closure and reconciliation of the victims families.

The Use of 3D Stacks

I noticed that part of my iTouch’s interactive components include a 3D stack. This feature allows the user to browse through various music files in their library. I would argue that there are several shortcomings for this feature. For instance, the controls are highly sensitive to the slightest pressure differentiation. I often have trouble scanning through specific files, often having to back track quite a few times. The other issue is of screen text legibility. On my own device there is the issue of reading text in low light conditions. I would hope that in the near future there would be a patch to regulate scroll pressure and adjustable lighting for browsing.

The use of Interactive Timelines

http://www.biography.com/blackhistory/black-history-timeline.jsp

I like the presentation that Biography.com did for last year’s Black History Month. The design is concise, visually rich and highly nformative. There are links provided as the user scrolls to information pertaining to the selected subject including: a synopsis of the event, quick facts referring to said event and a short quiz segment (presumably for schoolchildren).

The use of Interactive Maps

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/rio-de-janeiro

This Rio De Janeiro tourism board site provides the necessary information for potential sightseers visiting the city. I like the rugged simplicity and the ability to scroll over a certain landmark. However, I disagree with the basic information that is displayed despite the links that are provided to more informative sites. Again I am most appreciative of its simplicity and direct provision of information.

the use of lightboxes

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/27/koreas.crisis/index.html?hpt=T1

In reviewing Today’s article about protests in South Korea I noticed the liberal use of Light Boxes in the presentation. The utilitarian concept of the Light Box is very apparent. The images contained overlap the story and place the images center stage. The first Provides a highly visceral image of South Koreans in Seoul and abroad defacing images of the dictator Kim Jong-il and his family as well as the DPRK flag. In contrast the secondary light box presents historical and current socio-political information of the belligerent nation. I think that I will incorporate this concept in my final capstone project.

Fear and rage in our media oriented culture

The last page of Spiegelman’s book is an arresting (haha) part of the book. I see a trend of fear,retaliation, snatches of cynicism, subtle rascist headlines, victorious exuberance over military triumphs, then back to fear again. I find the end headline to be most disturbing. After 9/11, Halliburton conspiracies, bombing Iraq, terror threats and then we have….Britneys gonna kill herself!!!!!! oh my! It’s amazing how the media jumps to the most currently shocking subject and expects the American public to follow along. I beleive that the media pumps us full of fear and makes past tragedies a constant recurrence. I am not trying to sound apathetic or inconsiderate to some people’s sensibilities but we are sort of being led on by what we see. We see floods, AIDs in Africa, murders, wars, and then…. cut to commericial, soak up the ads, crack up over which celebrity is in rehab and then when it comes time to turn the T.V. off the viewer feels that they live in a terrible world. Keep everyone afraid and then they’ll listen and consume. This is quite possibly what the people who made the color coded warning system thought.

This situation is possibly Kafkaesque in the sense that every American feels that they have a frustrated search for meaning, (which is quite possible as we worry about so much more than our grandparents did), A constant unseen danger symbolized by the perpetual orange alert symbol on T.V., (which is now absent with Obama’s administration), and a powerful controlling institution which is the media. We acknowledge that the media is powerful because we allow it to be such a big part of our lives, but peace is just a remote click away. I doubt many will take that thought to heart.