Global Media News

We're Taking A Break!

Global Media News is shutting down for the holidays.  See you in February for a brand new spring season of media news.    Thanks  to all of our contributors and listeners.

The Future of the Digital Revolution

What's Next in the Digital Revolution?

For our final webcast of the season we are discussing the future of the digital revolution.  What's on the horizon?   Here are some of the topics we will be covering this week:

• 3D Printing
• Digital Innovations in Medicine
• Energy for the 21st Century
• Is our future in the Cloud?

Starting in February, 2011:  Media News

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

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A Bone For You

What a cute dress.  Did you know there is new technology being developed that will allow us to print 3-D objects?  I wonder if I could print this at home.  The idea of printing objects sounds cool, but how useful can that really be?  Bones.  Bones are pretty useful.

According to BBC News, a new technology being developed by engineers that allows them to use a 3D printer to create new bones.  The process will involve a, "CAT scanner to produce images of damaged bones."  Then a 3-D printer is used to make a model with a, "bone-like material."  It's expected that within a few years, Doctors will be able to order you custom bones.  Sweet.

More than mere bones, it's expected that this technology can be used in other ways.  According to PC World, "the printer could be used in orthopedics, in orthodontics, and to fix bone fixation (like spinal fixation)..."

The digital revolution making a medical revolution.  Who would've thought?

 

 

Play: Internet Gaming & Gambling

Playing Online: Gambling, Addiction, Fantasy Sports

How has the digital revolution transformed the way we play and the way we gamble?   Here are some of the topics we will be discussing:

• Online Gambling
• Government Regulation of Online Gaming
• Gambling Addicts Online
• Fantasy Sports
• Marketing through Games

Next Week:  "The Future of the Digital Revolution "  

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live?   Our  next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, December 15.

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The Growth of Online Fantasy Sports

Online fantasy gaming has become increasingly popular since the internet boom of the late 90's. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, over 32 million people are actively engaged in Fantasy Sports in the U.S. and Canada. There is a fantasy league for nearly every sport in existence, including football, baseball, basketball, soccer, golf, and cricket. Many of these fantasy leagues are operated by Yahoo! Sports.

Fantasy sports have become so popular because they allow people not just to be spectators, but they allow people to become actively involved with the sporting event taking place. It also encourages more people to tune in to these sporting events. Televised sports such as football and baseball have benefited the most from this growing interest in fantasy gaming.

There is the argument that during football season, national productivity is down. It is said that it's because people are taking time out of their work day to fix their rosters or manage their fantasy team. A report from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas Inc. says that as much as $500 million are lost weekly because of fantasy gaming. Although their are drawbacks to fantasy gaming in the workplace, there are also benefits. Many folks say that fantasy sports has a positive influence on the workplace. It's capable of boosting comraderie among employees and that it may help workers make a valuable business contact.

It's easy to see why the popularity of fantasy gaming has exploded over the past decade. In adding that sense of involvement with the sport, more people are becoming fans when they weren't before. Not only has fantasy gaming changed online activity, but it has also changed sports in general. 

The Future...Gaming While You Pee And Beyond

 

According to BBC News, new gaming technology targets urinal boredom, as well as your pockets when you get your pants zipped up. 

 

As cool as this is, besides bathroom entertainment mixed with consumerism, what else does our future hold?

A new world? PC World reports that Scientists Discover Strange New 'Species' of Galaxy Unlike Any Ever Seen.

I learned about the Monorail from the Simpsons.

 

And according to BBC News, reinventing the wheel may actually be a possibility.  This could replace trains as we know it.  While this offers speed and transports large amounts of people, there is also big danger if anything is off.  Perhaps technology can be tweeked to eliminate tragic accidents even though the high speed rail is already in use in some countries.  In fact this year 39 people in China lost their lives because a high speed (150 mph) crashed into the back of another (that stalled out).

Some of those survivors may have benefitted from a new technology being developed by engineers that allows them to use a 3D printer to create new bones, according to BBC News.  The process will involve a, "CAT scanner to produce images of damaged bones."  Then a 3-D printer is used to make a model with a, "bone-like material."  It's expected that within a few years, Doctors will be able to order you custom bones.  Sweet.

This future is fascinating.  There is so much going on; how can we handle it all?  We may have to wait for tomorrow to answer that but something in the works I can see being used today:  An article by PC World tells us how to get a handle on each other.  This will allow us to take networking and communicating to extreme efficiency where we'll be able to contact each other using one name or title that contains all the information we would need on each other like email addresses, phone numbers, etc.

Whether it's a new world or peeing games, the future holds many possibilities and options.

At War: Terrorism, Security & Surveillance

The Digital Revolution in Surveillance

Oops!  This week's webcast starts abruptly because of technical difficulties. The beginning of the show was lost. We begin in the middle of a discussion about surveillance in schools and how the police are using Facebook. Here are this week's topics:

• Using Facebook for Surveillance
• Surveillance in the Schools
• Drones and Video Surveillance in the War on Terror
• The Debate over Government Surveillance and Personal Privacy

Next Week:  "Fantasy Play:  Internet Gaming & Gambling  "  

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live?   Our  next webcast will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, December 8.

Subscribe Now!