La Belle-tique, Modern Clothes for the Vintage Girl: Lab Assignment #14

To improve your boutique (La Belle-tique: modern clothes for the vintage girl), the three options that would be to your best benefit are Zen Cart, Magneto, and Presta Shop. I am happy to help you find an option that is most suitable for you, and hope that you will feel more at ease about expanding your boutique to the internet after this proposal.
All eCommerce options give the user the chance to give customers sales and promotions on the website. However, the options for how the user may do so vary between softwares. Magneto has the best selection of choices – the user can use coupons, emails, percentages off marked on the website, etc. Whatever the user has in mind to make garments fly out the (electronic) door is pretty much fair game. Presta Shop’s approach is great as well because the user can include free shipping, as well as price reductions and gift vouchers. While Zen Cart’s items can be market as “free” or “inquire for price,” the software does not give the user as many options to choose from aside from a fixed price, a price markdown, or an additional percentage off. I know from experience that online discounts make me more willing to buy items off of a website, because I feel like I am getting a better deal than I would in the store.
SSL Security is important to the consumer when credit card fraud can happen in an instant. SSL security software encrypts, or scrambles, the data about a client, so that if a potential crook was trying to use it, they would have to decrypt everything before they could get what they wanted. Both Presta Shop and Magneto have this feature. Other than having a CVV2 verification feature, Zen Cart does not offer much security for online transactions. While most customers do not think about this when they initially shop on your website, the ones that do will be deterred by the lack of security (I know that I would). It would also be detrimental to your reputation as a business owner if something fraudulent ever happened at the customer’s expense, even if the actions causing the incident were not your own.
Additionally, each brand of software has a PayPal option included for use. This makes it easier for many users to access their credit card information, and therefore, buy more stuff. PayPal completes the transaction for the vendor, and all the vendor has to do is just ship the item and collect the profit. I shop on Ebay quite often, so I find PayPal convenient and easy to use, because I do not have to create a different account for any other website that uses PayPal services as well.
For the technology-confused user, HTML coding and customization of the storefront may be a concern. Obviously, no vendor wants to have a dull website that does not draw potential customers in to buy the product. Zen Cart offers an extensive template customization system, while Magneto does not have HTML-free customization. Presta Shop has a “back office” feature to help the user tweak the look of the storefront. The option that will give you the most creative liberty is important, as I am certain you would like your website to look as creative as your actual store.
As an online shopper myself, I tend to dislike when I am limited on shipping options, or when the least expensive takes a month to get my purchase to me. Presta Shop offers shipment tracking and gift-wrapping, but does not seem to give the customer free reign over how they want their purchase shipped to them. Magneto has the option of adding every possible shipping rate (from UPS, UPS XML, FedEx, USPS and DHL) to your storefront, which is great if you have a picky customer. Zen Shop has multiple options for shipping carriers, as well as a shipping estimator, which the customer can use prior to check out.
To give my opinion, I believe that Presta Shop is the best option, because it will give you a good amount of customization options, while keeping the security and professional aspects of your business at the heart of the storefront.

Lab Assignment #11

I suppose this is a really old radio, the authentic vintage look that everything modern tries to copy. It's interesting to me that there's still a metal antenna on it that looks extendable - I haven't seen one of those in a long time, not even on automobiles. This makes me nostalgic for the days of bunny ears on TV sets and for the sound of my mom's Volvo's radio antenna coming out of the front of the car when I was a little kid. Those times were much simpler; these days it's all about how much music you can have to choose from, rather than just sitting back and actually listening to it.
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A regular alarm clock-radio. I have one that sits beside my bed, and the quality is terrible because I can never get quite the right signal from my antenna. Still, I don't see myself upgrading to a WiFi radio anytime soon, as I have adapted to other forms of getting my music fix when I wake up in the morning.
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These days it seems they can make everything old new again. This is a WiFi radio made to look like a classic radio one might find back in the 40's or 50's (or at least that's my guess... I obviously wasn't alive back then).
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This is a WiFi transmitter... we're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. It's pretty insane how much technology has evolved from phonographic radios to this photograph here. Everything is computerized in this day and age, but my question is "why doesn't it sound like it's live yet?"
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I'm kind of in awe of how little is required to send out a radio broadcast. Still, It does look complicated. I wonder what a radio transmitter would have looked like 30 years ago, or even when radios were first invented, if the machine is as large as it is now.
Image located at: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/2766542684_9a3e93c944.jpg
























The video discusses the many advantages to taking up photography as a hobby or even a career. It also tells about different aspects of the film industry (like availability of jobs) and how innovations are constantly being made in the photography world.

The World of Mobile Music - Lab Assignment #9

This week, we're venturing into the music industry to see what options there are for online streaming.

MC Solaar (Hip Hop/Rap)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Guru, NTM, Torpedo Boyz, Tandem, Supreme NTM
• LaLa’s related artists: Saian Super Crew, Sniper, Manau, Sinik, TTC
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Black-Eyed Peas, Jay-Z, Dead Prez, Grand Puba, Fort Minor
• LastFM’s picks: IAM, Oxmo Puccino, Akhenaton, Doc Gyneco, Fonky Family

Carla Bruni (French Pop)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Nouvelle Vague, Ingrid Michaelson, Coralie Clements, Feist, Cat Power
• LaLa’s related artists: The Smiths, Regina Spektor, Feist, The Temper Trap, Mumm-Ra
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Serge Gainsbourg, Sia, Etienne Daho, Vanessa Paradis, Broken Social Scene
• LastFM’s picks: Coralie Clement, Keren Ann, Camille, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Francoise Hardy

Andrea Bocelli (Classical, Opera)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Josh Groban, Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Buble, Il Divo
• LaLa’s related artists: Susan Boyle, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Michael Buble, Bing Crosby
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Kronos Quartet, Michael Buble, Luciano Pavarotti, Hayley Westenra, Vittorio Grigolo
• LastFM’s picks: Luciano Pavarotti, Il Divo, Josh Groban, Placido Domingo, Sarah Brightman

Conor Oberst (Indie, Folk)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Ryan Adams, Neva Dinova, Damien Rice, Sufjan Stephens, the Beatles
• LaLa’s related artists: Okkervil River, Monsters of Folk, Blitzen Trapper, The National, David Sitek
• Grooveshark’s top 5: The Honorary Title, Damien Rice, Metric, Rocky Votolato, Colin Meloy
• LastFM’s picks: Park Ave., Desaparecidos, Commander Venus, M. Ward, Simon Joyner

Alicia Keys (Soul, R&B)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Ne-Yo, Aaliyah, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, Beyonce
• LaLa’s related artists: Mary J. Blige, Destiny’s Child, R Kelly, Usher, Beyonce
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Maiysha, Anthony Hamilton, Mary J. Blige
• LastFM’s picks: Amerie, Mary J. Blige, Beyonce, Aaliyah, Mariah Carey

Janis Joplin (Rock)
• Pandora’s first five song artists: Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, The Beatles, The Doors
• LaLa’s related artists: The Band, Jefferson Airplane, Big Brother & the Holding Company, Jimi Hendrix, Boz Scaggs
• Grooveshark’s top 5: Supertramp, Bee Gees, Melissa Etheridge, Wilco, Eric Clapton
• LastFM’s picks: Big Brother & the Holding, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin

My thoughts on the experiment:
Personally, I prefered Grooveshark's choices over the other stations' selections. Grooveshark does a great job of mixing the artists, while still adding new and different (but still related) artists into the mix. Pandora is great because it finds what a user likes, but the skip count feature is frustrating and annoying, and I find I often end up hearing the same songs over and over. The other two websites seemed to just find the most popular related source, which doesn't necessarily have any relation at all to the actual artists (I was not a fan.).

Free, Downloadable, Music - Lab Asignment #10

Here are the songs I found that could be put on an iPod touch. Enjoy!

1. last.fm:
   Sufjan Stevens - Henney Buggy Band
2. itunes.com:
   Easton Corbin - A Little More Country Than That
3. vampireweekend.com:
   Vampire Weekend - Horchata

Podcast Options - Lab Assignment #8

For this assignment, we were asked to find ten podcasts from 5 different categories, and give the facts on each podcast - the name of the publisher, the category, the podcast's format, the frequency of updates and new podcasts, the projected audience, number of subscribers and (finally) corporate sponsors for the website.
All of the following podcasts were found at podcastalley.com. The website sorts them into genres to help users figure out which of them pertains to their interest.

harrypotterpodcast.com
Publisher: harrypotterpodcast.com
Category: Arts
Format: Fan-Fiction
Frequency: Several times a month, but not necessarily weekly.
Audience: Harry Potter Fans (i.e. 10-30 year old English speaking males and females who probably grew up with or just greatly appreciate J.K. Rowling's literary masterpiece)
Subscribers: 112
Sponsors: Google

Great detectives of old-time radio
Publisher: Adam Graham
Category: Arts
Format: Audiobook
Frequency: Daily, Mon. - Sat.
Audience: Men and Women older than the age of 40, who are probably upper-middle class (have free time on their hands) and who also enjoy listening to things that they may have grown up with.
Subscribers:97
Sponsors: Google, Priceline, Netflix

Free Talk Live
Publisher: Josh, Julia, Nick, Wayne, Dale, Mark and Ian
Category: Society & Culture
Format: Talk Show
Frequency: Daily
Audience: Twenty and Thirty-Somethings that probably do not align themselves with a political party and consider themselves free-thinking individuals.
Subscribers: 44,020
Sponsors: Google, Berkey Light Water Filters, sakalcai.com

Best of the Left
Publisher: Jay
Category: Society & Culture
Format: Talk Show
Frequency: Once or Twice a Week
Audience: Liberals - most likely males and females above the age of 18 who are interested in liberal politics and do not live in the Southern United States
Subscribers: 2,118
Sponsors: Google

Accio-Potter Wizard Radio
Publisher: Alex Heule, Jay Grandi, Michael Hickey, Microsoft Same
Category: Music
Format: Music
Frequency: Monthly
Audience: Again, Harry Potter fans - most likely High School and College Students, ages ranging from 10-30 who speak English and are fans of the books
Subscribers: 314
Sponsors: Google, Kawasaki Parts, Online Gambling

Film Penguins
Publisher: Andrew and Mark
Category: TV/Film
Format: TV/Film
Frequency: once a week
Audience: females in their 20's who are movie buffs.
Subscribers: 8
Sponsors: Google (SonyPictures.com/IceCastles, us.penguingroup.com)

Talk Trek
Publisher: different for every episode
Category: TV/Film
Format: TV/film relating to Star Trek
Frequency: once a week a new video is published
Audience: Star Trek fanatics, most likely post-adolescent males
Subscribers: 99
Sponsors: Google (gk2gk.com, fanscast.com)

ESPN Radio Podcast
Publisher: ESPN internet ventures
Category: Sports/Recreation
Format: Sports News
Frequency: once a day; Monday through Friday.
Audience: male gender, 13-50 year olds, who like sports.
Subscribers: 12
Sponsors: Google (SportManagementDegrees.com, combatcast.net)

New England Patriots Podcast
Publisher: New England Patriots ("club") and Internet Commerce Company
Category: Sports/Recreation
Format: Sports News
Frequency: once a day; Monday through Friday.
Audience: male gender, 13-50 year olds, New Engalnd Patriot fans.
Subscribers: 5
Sponsors: Google (proshop.patriots.com, NFLshop.com)

Keith and the Girl
Publisher: Keith and Chemeda
Category: Top 10 Podcast
Format: Comedy Talkshow
Frequency: once a day; Monday thru Friday.
Audience: females and males early 20's to mid 30's.
Subscribers: 38826 votes
Sponsors: Google (voices.com, wellsfargo.com/student)

Youtube vs. Hulu vs. Vimeo - Lab Assignment #7

For this assignment, I was asked to view the functionality of 3 different video-streaming websites and review the functionality for each one.
Note: all three websites had an easy-to-embed code that I just clicked on to provide me with the necessary html.

youtube (www.youtube.com): You can upload your own videos easily, but the resolution is poor (especially in full screen mode) and there is also a time limit - if you want to watch a full episode of a TV show, you have to watch it in sections. The videos, though they did not do so this time, tend to buffer a lot and I normally find myself having to let them load all the way to prevent the player from stopping in the middle of each video. There are also advertisements at the bottom of the stream, which you can exit out of while watching, but it is definitely a pain. Youtube, for me, is easiest to use, especially because if I'm Googling something specific, the videos come from youtube.

hulu (www.hulu.com): The resolution is better because the video is set up in a widescreen format (however, this makes it awkward to embed). The sound quality sounds less grainy and the streaming overall is much better. You can watch full length shows or movies, but there are ads about every ten minutes that you have to sit through, much like television commercials, in order to move on with the video. There is also the option of completing an advertising survey in exchange for watching the video uninterrupted. I like using hulu on occasion because it's easy to watch full episodes of TV shows, but I get annoyed by the ads a lot.

vimeo (www.vimeo.com) : The resolution and sound quality of the videos doesn't seem to be as good as other websites on some videos, but there is better resolution on others - I suppose it just depends on who posts it. I had to wait for about 30 seconds for the video to load, but it played consistently once it loaded. There also were not ads or annoying pop-ups in the video, so it was nice to watch something in a much cleaner format. Vimeo, however, is very limited in the number of videos it has; there are few shows or popular videos - I found a lot of user-created posts.

The bottle from Gwaihirium on Vimeo.

Lab Assignment #6

For this assignment, my partner and I were asked to create a survey to see the different services people use in the Bryan/College Station area, as well as the reasons for using those services.

The following were the questions we asked ten random people:

1. What TV service do you use?


2. When do you watch TV?
   Categories: Primetime, Daytime, Morning


3. Where do you watch TV?
   Categories: at home, at work, at school, other


4. Why do you watch TV?
   Categories: putting off homework, entertainment, social reasons, other (can pick more than one)

Our survey leaves out how many or what TV shows people watched, but we concluded that those questions would receive very broad answers, so we did not think it absolutely necessary to ask them.

We believe we got the results we did for a few reasons. College students want convenient service, and SuddenLink gives them the option of having DVR to record their shows. With little time to sit down and make a point of watching a certain show, college students probably favor this feature because they do not have to be at home for the show to get recorded. Also, there is not really a reason for them to have Television on their cell phones, especially when trying to save money, so that was probably why Verizon was less popular. College students love to procrastinate and have fun, though, so that could be an explanation for the popularity of paying for a service versus not having TV at all (or just using broadcast TV). The Tables below illustrate our survey's results.

TV Service	SuddenLink	DirecTV	Broadcast TV	Mobile	No TV
Number of Users	7	2	1	0	0

Time Slot	Primetime	Daytime	Morning	All
Number of Watchers	8	0	1	1

Where you watch	At Home	At Work	At School	Other
Number of students	9	1	0	0

Reasons for Watching	Putting off HW	Entertainment	Social	Other
Number of students	6	5	3	2