File Sharing

file sharing is something extremely commonplace to the average teenager. Most of adolescents today have had whatever song, movie or game accessible by the click of a mouse. Its hard for anyone to imagine that something so easy and wildly accepted could be illegal. However, there has been a very clear effort made by the government in the past 5 years that these programs ARE illegal and those who use them will be prosecuted. However, i don't believe things are as clear cut as the government make them out to be.
Music cannot be bought and sold. A CD, a guitar, a DVD, tape, or record can be bought and sold but something as beautiful and spiritual as music should be spread to all the ears willing to hear it, and musicians should promote and spread their songs and talents as far as ears can hear. however, big companies and record labels have made music just another commodity to be bought and sold. They control so much of the music media and jack up prices on cds. If CD's were only $10, alot more people would buy them. Therefore i do believe that most types of file sharing should be legal. I believe that someone downloading a song, "stealing it", is far more beneficial than someone picking up that musicians Cd in a store and then putting it right back down and buying something else. Musicians should expose themselves as much as possible.
I think the following are acceptable and shouldn't be illegal:
- Downloading a song you don't own from a major label artist.
- Downloading a song you don't own from a struggling independent artist.
- Downloading another copy of a song you already own.
- Downloading a song to "try it out" - if you like it enough, you'll buy the CD.
- Copying a CD from a friend.
I think that all these actions are beneficial to an artists notoriety and success because artists only receive an extremely small portion of the sales of their cd's.
i obviously don't think that stealing a cd from a store is okay, so i think that a happy medium between file sharing and common recording label/cd store model.
Artists could maybe make some of their most popular or older songs available for free download on their websites. Artists can use file downloading to their advantage and harness it to benefit their popularity. musicians and labels should accept the changing times and not fight change, because they definitely wont win.

Digital Media

The advances in the world of digital media has made it accessible to almost anyone. With a small amount of time and effort, anyone can learn to become a photo editor or music mixer through modern digital creation programs. These programs open doors for average people who might not normally be exposed to this type of media. 10 years ago the field of graphic design was completely different; the use of computers completely turned the field upside down. Normally difficult tasks like adding type to an image, all had to be done by hand -but computers changed this. As a graphic design major,I think it is wonderful that these programs are so accessible for consumers because it encourages a world of creation and exploration. It certainly makes my job easier. if computers hadn't made the world of graphic design so accessible for me, i might have a different major.  I also believe that since these programs assist in an artists ability to distribute their work more easily and effectively, it has crated a new generation of art, a digital art world. Artists can not only expose themselves online, in wonderfully designed websites but also be exposed and learn from other artists on the internet too. 

However, since these programs can be so easy, a lot of people who probably should be making videos or images, end up creating distasteful or just plain ugly songs or art. Without these programs it would take a lot of dedication and time to create something like a image or song. The easy accessibility of these programs can often remove a lot of the artistic integrity of something. It can often cheapen something because it is so easy to make. However, i do believe these programs have definately raised the standards for artistic design in the art world because you can do so many great things with them. 

ultimately, the advances in digital media has brought mostly positive advances in the world of art and music. It has raised the bar for everyone and has made it possible for just about anyone to be and artist or musician. 

E-Waste

The issue of E-Waste in the united states and in the entire world, is an important issue that should immediately addressed. With the rapid rate of improvement in the technological world, the more outdated computer become obsolete. The difference in technology between a computer created today in 2008 compared to one made a mere 3 to 5 years ago is vast. This rapid advance in technology has created the demand for an environmentally safe place to discard all these old computers. However, not only are computers difficult to take apart, they contain extremely harmful chemicals such as lead and mercury,are expensive to recycle and no longer useful.  

Since computers are so difficult to safely dismantle, much of the companies responsible for recycling or disposing of these computers take what little parts that are of value or reusable and then outsource this difficult and expensive labor to other international companies. These companies are in places like Nigeria, China and India where the environmental laws are much less strict and labor is cheap. At these other recycling centers the small amount valuable components that are left on the computer are stripped off with hazardous chemical and many of the unusable remains are burned. These left over parts contain cancer causing chemicals and the effects are intensified when the components are burned, the lead and mercury has seeped into the ground water in the towns where many of these camps are located. 

What makes this issue so difficult to address is that fact that many times the consumer has no control over where their computer goes after they hand it off to their local electronic recycling center. The computers parts are repeatedly outsourced, the problem is outsourced. It is inevitable that e-waste will have detrimental effects on our environment and the people in it as well. In order to be a responsible consumer we should always try to recycle our computers through safe recycling companies, like those that have signed BAN's stewardship pledge. It is also important plays an active roll in regulating how the computers being used in America are being discarded of. Legislation should be passed nationally to regulate e-waste and its negative effects. I believe that the computer companies should be semi responsible for where the computers they create end up. Their is currently legislation like this in Texas but i think it should become a national because computer companies are ethically responsible for where the products they create end up. As consumers, especially consumers in America, we all need to be conscious of where all our waste goes and the affect it has on our environment. We only have one world to live in and all our waste as to go somewhere. Therefore, we need to reduce our use, reuse what we can and recycle the rest.