DVD

Digital Versatile or Digital Video Disc is a method of storing data that has become wildly popular. A DVD can hold up to 8.5 gigabytes of information, using a method called 'dual layering'. In this way, layers of data are  stacked on top of each other to double the disc's capacity. When DVDs came out, filmmakers could finally release high fidelity movies contained on a single disc. This helped pave the way for services like Netflix and increased business for video rental stores.


DVD Demystified : Frequently Asked Questions about DVDs

VHS

In 1974, the Victory Company of Japan (JVC) introduced the VHS cassette tape to the world. This was the most successful format of video recording, and revolutionized the way we watched television. Now movies could be enjoyed out of the theater, and TV shows could be recorded to watch later. VHS stands for 'Video Home System'.

Milestones: Development of VHS, a World Standard for Home Video Recording

Virtual Retinal Display

Virtual retinal display describes a way of seeing that projects an image directly onto your eye's retina. Our very sense of what is real could be altered using this method. Statistics of random objects we encounter could pop up, or entire movies and shows could be visualized out of thin air.

 Tidwell - Virtual Retinal Display

Holography

      As impressive as the ‘popping’ effects of stereoscopic 3D are, they remain only an optical illusion. A true 3D effect is attainable through an exciting new technology known as holography. Holograms are a limited visual representation of reality as we know it, in all three dimensions. Currently there are limitations to this format. There simply isn’t a device advanced enough to display holographic images in the color range or detail we see in real life. One day all our display devices may be fitted to show holographic images.

The History and Development of Holography

Network Neutrality

          The issue of network neutrality affects all consumers of internet media. Network neutrality is the idea that all users should have access to the entirety of the internet’s content, free from restrictions imposed by internet service providers, governments or schools. This concept mandates that no website should be obstructed and no tiered system should exist to give faster access to premium customers.

            There are several arguments both for and against legislation to ensure network neutrality. This topic brings into play the question of who controls the world’s data, while also raising questions about the rights of a service provider to decide how much bandwidth they produce. Some believe the concept of laissez faire should be applied to network neutrality, while others fear that  powerful organizations could become gatekeepers over our collective knowledge.

Net Neutrality on The New York Times Topics 

Abstract of 'The Death of the Publishing House'

The paper I reviewed focused on the history of media, and using that as a lens through which we can predict the future. From ancient Egyptian scrolls to mythological oral traditions, we see certain forms of old media living on in the present. Scrolls became books and myths told over campfire became preachers’ sermons. 

Since the invention of the printing press, we have seen publishers making choices for us. A publisher will only spend its resources to promote writing that they deem strong enough to be profitable. Recently, publishing houses have been steadily losing their hold on literature, making way for the internet and e-books to replace them entirely. The decision of whether or not to publish a work has fallen back into the authors’ hands, and in the future publishing houses may be shuttered completely.