Week 11 :Story 22- Apple stops making wireless routers and shuts division

Apple stops making wireless routers and shuts division

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/22/apple-stops-making-wireless-airport-routers-shuts-division

Apple has closed the division responsible for designing its wireless routers, reassigning the employees within the company and putting an end to its 17-year-old AirPort product line, sources close to the company have confirmed.

• Every single other piece of hardware, including the Apple Watch, Apple TV, and all of Apple’s accessories, is bundled into an “Other Products” category, which brings in less than 5% of Apple’s overall revenue – less than the amount Apple makes from “services” like the iTunes Store and iCloud.
• attempt to “sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue”, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

Apple began shutting down the wireless router team over the past year, dispersing engineers to other product development groups.” Beneficiaries include the Apple TV division

Week 11 :Story 21- Elon Musk wants to cover the world with internet from space

Elon Musk wants to cover the world with internet from space 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/17/elon-musk-satellites-internet-spacex

The story talks about how Elon Musks company Tesla is planning to employ 4,000 satellites in space. 

• Musk said in January 2015 that the plan would cost at least $10bn.
• Measuring 4m by 1.8 by 1.2m and weighing 386kg. 
• US government to operate a massive network of 4,425 satellites

I believe that this innovation will be very beneficial to the world due to the fact that people will have access to the internet when they need it which is useful as any information people are restricted from obtaining are able to do so because they now have access.The world we live in can have internet where ever you are. There's been no date for the release of the satellite itself but it is said to be that it would orbit in a range between 714 miles and 823 miles above the Earth

NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony

1)Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent acquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?

From this research I can gather that Ian Tomlinson was innocently walking home from work during protests. The protest was the G20 in 2009. One of the police officers had anticipated he was a part of the protest where he was then assaulted by the police officer and later killed after being attacked.  One man recorded it and managed to get it published.

2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0? 

The author argues that the internet doesn’t showcase one view it also promotes other views and values from sites such as blogs. They also offer professional journalism.

3) In your opinion, do new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?
In my opinion I believe that the article does reinforce hegemonic views as people are reading different articles that they find and do not challenge it and when there's a dominant hegemonic view which is being reinforced. People will be more inclined to believe it rather than challenge due to a moral panic being created.

4) Do recent world events such as Brexit or Donald Trump's election in the US suggest dominant hegemonic ideologies are being challenged or reinforced? There are arguments for both sides here - explain your opinion and why.

I believe that the Brexit issue and Donald Trump election has hegemonic views as there were both promises given by the two campaigns. The reason why these promises were made was because for Donald Trump his promise was to make ‘America Great Again’ this was done so people would vote for him because of the reinforced dominant hegemonic view. 

Week 10 :Story 20- Twitter users to get ability to mute words and conversations

Twitter users to get ability to mute words and conversations

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/nov/15/twitter-users-to-get-ability-to-mute-words-and-conversations

This article talks about bout how users will now be able to mute the names of popular TV shows, for instance, or the teams playing in a match they intend to watch later in the day, from showing up in their notifications, although the mute will not affect a user’s main timeline. 

• After nine years, Twitter users will finally be able to mute specific conversations on the site, as well as filter out all tweets with a particular word or phrase from their notifications.
• “Our hateful conduct policy prohibits specific conduct that targets people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease. Today we’re giving you a more direct way to report this type of conduct for yourself, or for others, whenever you see it happening,” the company said. “This will improve our ability to process these reports, which helps reduce the burden on the person experiencing the abuse.”
• ''The outcome of the US election may create new issues for Twitter with questions over fake news being shared and over far right posters using the service for abuse. Donald Trump is to take Steve Bannon, the executive chairman of far-right news website Breitbart, to the White House as chief strategist. In July this year Twitter enforced its anti-hate speech rules against an editor on Breitbart, first removing his verified status and then deleting his account after he led a hate campaign against Leslie Jones, an actor in the latest Ghostbusters movie.''

Week 10 :Story 19 - 'Telegraph paywall initiative is an interesting strategic shift '

Telegraph paywall initiative is an interesting strategic shift '

https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2016/nov/03/telegraph-paywall-initiative-is-an-interesting-strategic-shift

This article talks about the Telegraph Media Group move to introduce a paywall for “premium content”.

• Although it will initially involve only 15% of the output of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph, it is an acknowledgement that readers should pay for its journalism and, more importantly, that its journalism is worth paying for
• But the hard paywall will prevent any circumvention and it shows a determination by TMG to persuade its audience that they must pay a subscription.

I believe that  this is a new way that works for the Telegraph as there is only some stories that require payment. This could work as the readers of the Telegraph mostly consist of the higher socio-economic groups, however, it could  be a risky move to out some content behind a paywall.

Week 9 :Story 18 - 'Politics has gone wrong. Is digital technology to blame?'

'Politics has gone wrong. Is digital technology to blame?' 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/31/politics-digital-technology-brexit-donald-trump

This story talks about the influence of new and digital media on politics due to Brexit and the US election

• Politicians still have weapons at their disposal that Google and Facebook can't match  
• Digital technologies makes it easier to do a lot of things, it has shaped us to make life easier 

I believe that new and digital media is essential in our daily lives as it allows us to access our news. it has influenced people as we have become reliant of the internet for getting information or doing some online shopping. I believe that the media sometimes creates problematic situations for people, however it also brings people together that share similar views and values. 

Week 9: Story 17- 'Mark Zuckerberg rejects 'crazy idea' Facebook influenced US election result'

'Mark Zuckerberg rejects 'crazy idea' Facebook influenced US election result'

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/11/11/mark-zuckerberg-rejects-crazy-idea-facebook-influenced-us-electi/

This article talks about how Zuckerberg is being questioned on whether or not Facebook as influenced the US election by allowing fake news stories to be published on the social media networking website. 

• 'I think there's a certain profound lack of empathy in asserting that the only reason why someone would have voted the way they did is because they saw some fake news'
• “By far the biggest filter in the system is not that the content isn’t there, that you don’t have friends that support the other candidate or are of another religion, but that you just don’t click on it. You actually tune it out when you see it,” he said.

I personally believe that it has influenced the US election as millennials are  more likely to go to social media for news so Facebook should have been regulated so that the correct information was given to the public especially during an event as big as this.