Quando eu era pequena eu queria ser....

ESCLAVOS DE LA FAMA
MANUEL RODRÍGUEZ RIVERO



Cuando yo era pequeño, los niños y niñas queríamos ser médicos o modelos o enfermeras o bomberos o maestros o modistas. Ahora quieren ser famosos. Vivimos en una sociedad narcisista y competitiva que impulsa a los jóvenes a desarrollar irreales expectativas acerca de sí mismos. Y los medios les ratifican en la convicción de que no importan las razones por las que uno pueda ser célebre: basta con serlo. La condición para ello es ser reconocido como tal por nuestros iguales, puesto que, enterrada (por sospechosa) la certidumbre ilustrada acerca de la existencia de estándares objetivos de valoración, el espaldarazo de nuestros semejantes se convierte en el principal criterio. Paris Hilton -una famosa por ser famosa- puede presumir de 61 millones de referencias en Internet. Stephen Hawking, de poco más de dos.


Muchos jóvenes utilizan Facebook, Tuenti, MySpace o Twitter para darse a conocer, para 'triunfar'
La popularidad de las redes sociales es un buen ejemplo de esa necesidad de exhibirse que constituye uno de los rasgos evidentes de nuestro estilo de vida. Más allá de la mera sociabilidad y del deseo de relacionarse con sus iguales, muchos jóvenes utilizan Facebook, Tuenti, MySpace o Twitter para darse a conocer, para triunfar: el número de "mensajes en el muro" o de "actualizaciones de perfil" es el baremo de la popularidad, la antesala del triunfo.

Hasta aquí lo más o menos obvio. Volvamos ahora a la fama tal como se entiende (y se anhela) en nuestras sociedades hipermodernas: ¿cuál es su función? Un libro reciente de Tom Payne (Fame, from the Bronze Age to Britney, Vintage) propone la sugestiva -pero a veces forzada- teoría de que la moderna adoración de las celebridades está firmemente enraizada en nuestra civilización: entre Ifigenia -convertida en semidiosa gracias a su sacrificio- y Jade Goody -la concursante de Big Brother que eligió morir en directo- no habría distancias insalvables: el sacrificio (ritual) es el camino al mito. A la fama eterna.

Ahora somos nosotros los que elegimos a nuestros semidioses cutres: en la programación de las diferentes televisiones no faltan ni los talk shows, en los que se discute interminablemente acerca de la vida íntima de las celebridades, ni los concursos o competiciones en los que los espectadores seleccionan, mediante distintas pruebas y ordalías (danza, supervivencia en islas desiertas o Gran Hermano), a las que pronto sustituirán a las ya gastadas.

La prueba final es el sacrificio ritual: la entronización en el Panteón de la Fama llega necesariamente tras el Calvario. Michael Jackson fue un ídolo de masas mucho antes de sufrir el castigo por la sospecha de pederastia: su muerte ha lavado la (presunta) mancha elevándolo al Olimpo. Diana tuvo que pasar su propio vía crucis antes de convertirse en la adorada princesa del pueblo. Goody sufrió el ostracismo por el intolerable pecado racista de llamar papadum (torta de pan) a la actriz Shilpa Shetty: lo purgó yendo a la India a disculparse en la versión local de Gran Hermano, pero sólo logró el perdón (y su mitificación) con su cáncer letal diseminado en YouTube. Ellos eligen lo que quieren ser y nosotros (con las herramientas mediáticas) seleccionamos a quien nos sirve para conjurar las ansiedades, deseos y abstractas violencias que experimentamos. Quid pro quo.
Fonte El Pais

Fim do Ipod? Mais interatividade?

Traditional versions of the iconic device are a thing of the past, but future iterations will have a long and vibrant future.


I was recently cleaning out a closet and came across an interesting artifact: my first iPod.

It was nearly eight years ago that I was among the very first people in New York City to carry around the first-generation iPod. About the size of a pack of cigarettes, it was advertised with the tagline "A thousand songs in your pocket." I can even remember the song used in the first TV spot: Take California by The Propellerheads.

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Since then, I've upgraded to a 2007 model boasting a 160-gigabyte hard drive that makes holding a mere thousand songs seem quaint. Before long, I will no doubt be waxing nostalgic about this music player as well—one that, at not even half full, holds 5,231 songs, 141 videos, and 228 podcasts.

First Quarterly Drop in iPod Sales

The iPod as many of us have known it is on the wane and giving way to a more feature-rich family of devices that in time will bear little resemblance to the trailblazing digital music players that helped Apple capture 70% of the North American market. Evidence of the iPod's decline came July 21, when Apple disclosed its first quarterly decline in iPods sold. In the three months ended in June, Apple (AAPL) sold 10.2 million iPods, versus 11 million a year earlier.

Anticipation of the drop-off is "one of the original reasons" Apple developed the iPhone and the WiFi-enabled iPod touch, Apple Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer said on a July 21 conference call with analysts. Apple is prepared for lower sales of what it calls "pocket products:" the iPod shuffle, nano, and classic.

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At the same time, the iPod business "will last for many, many years," Apple believes. The company has good reason to want to extend the life of a product line that's generated $38 billion on sales of 218 million units, catapulting Apple ahead of SanDisk (SNDK), Microsoft (MSFT), Toshiba (6502.T), and others.

Flash Memory Is Cheaper

What will iPod's next generation look like? Most of Apple's energy is going to be devoted to the iPod touch, the most advanced and versatile version of the iPod.

My prediction is that one of the first casualties of Apple's emphasis will be the hard drive-based iPod classic. Flash memory is cheaper, consumes less power, and resists abuse better than hard drives, so future high-capacity iPods will most likely be based on flash.

I'm also betting those high-capacity models will look more like the iPod touch, and less like my iPod classic. If history is any judge, Apple will revise its iPod lineup in September, as it has every year since 2005.

A Mic Would Broaden Appeal

Besides a refresh of the iPod nano (it's been revised every fall since its introduction), you can also expect a more advanced version of the iPod touch. The next touch will come with 64GB of flash memory.

And since it runs virtually all of the same applications that the iPhone does, then it stands to reason that the touch will starting taking on more hardware features to accommodate applications. Aside from music and video, it's now already marketed as a handheld gaming machine, a communications device, and a handheld Web device. In a limited way it can even be used for navigation.

Over time, the touch will do even more. Consider its appeal if Apple were to add a microphone that lets you make calls on Skype (EBAY) or other Internet-calling services, without the need for the awkward headset that's required for such calls now.

You could talk on it as if it were an iPhone, and the mic would put in double duty for simple audio recordings like meetings, lectures, and voice memos.

How About a Camera?

The touch should really have a camera, too. And is there any reason why that camera can't be better than the one in the iPhone? The latest iPhone 3GS sports a 3-megapixel camera sensor, while the latest phones from Nokia (NOK) have an 8-megapixel sensor. Apple could split the difference and give the touch a 5- or 6-megapixel sensor, giving it the ability to take really gorgeous pictures.

And if the touch has a camera, then it should support video. All that added memory leaves plenty of room for clips, and the Wi-Fi connection makes it easy to send them directly to YouTube (GOOG) and other video-sharing sites. And while Apple has resisted adding memory-card slots to its handhelds in the past, now that the Mac has a slot for SD memory cards, is there any reason the iPod touch (and for that matter a future model of the iPhone) can't have a slot for Mini-SD cards for added storage capacity?

While we're wish-listing, why should the iPhone be the only device in Apple's lineup that can help you get from one place to another? Why not add a GPS chipset, and let the iPod touch become a full-fledged personal navigation device? The touch's limited navigation features currently only work when Wi-Fi is present. This is fine when you're in a city, but no help when you're on the road. With excellent personal navigation devices from Garmin (GRMN) and TomTom (TOM2.AS) selling for as low as $120—more than $100 below the entry-level touch—why consider navigation a premium, iPhone-only feature?

However Apple answers that question, what's clear is that traditional versions of the device are a thing of the past—and future iterations will have a long and vibrant future.


Hesseldahl is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com
Fonte:notícias Yahoo