The following is an essay written for my college composition class that argues the case that the government should invest in expanding internet infrastructure.

The United States government should invest in expanding and improving the internet infrastructure in the United States so that more people will have affordable and quick access to a global marketplace of commerce and free ideas.  The age of the internet is possibly the most important time in human civilization since the industrial revolution.  Although the internet is extremely large and complex the internet can be summed up as a technology that accomplishes three very important functions; Communication, Cooperation, and Commerce.  One of the best aspects about the internet is perhaps its largest criticism that it gives a soapbox for everyone to stand on.  The internet delivers the promise of free speech for everyone, no longer will the people have to rely on organized and well funded newspapers, television shows, or radio broadcasts to deliver their message, the neutrality of the internet gives equal voice to everyone, of any class, background, and socio-economic standing this is the communication function.  The internet saw its start as a government military project, originally called “ARPANET” the goal of the project was to create a military communications network that could withstand a massive nuclear exchange.  Utilizing a system called “packet switching” that would find new routes to send data through in the event that one of the paths was jammed or destroyed the system would be more stable than current telephone systems.  As the project went on a second use besides military communication came into focus, cooperation, if scientists all over the globe could integrate computers and the internet into their experiments they could collaborate, with one another and synergize their efforts.  Wikipedia is an example of a website that fits into the collaboration category, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that anyone can edit and provide their knowledge for several hundred millions of people to read.  Although Wikipedia is open to constant vandalism, the benefits of the openness far outweigh the drawbacks, making Wikipedia today the largest encyclopedia in the world.  Of course the internet would not be as popular as it is today without the support of enterprise, this is the commerce function.  Companies like Amazon.com and Netflix are web based companies that have found great success online from customers, other websites such as Facebook, the Google search engine, and You Tube sell advertising space on their sites.  The internet is not just for major corporations to make money, small businesses can also utilize the internet to make money, for example a small site called NextGenWalkthroughs.com was started by two young guys in their 20s who like to play video games and create game guides for other players.  Before the internet it would cost a huge investment to start a media company, whether it be magazine or book publishing, television or radio broadcasting, or newspaper printing.  With the internet today, there is no need to purchase massive printing machines or barrels of paper, there is no need to purchase expensive broadcasting equipment, no massive broadcasting tower ever needs to be erected on a high hill, FCC license do not need to be acquired the old model is a closed club, with a massive barrier to entry.  According to a recent study by the President’s National Broadband Commission  83% of broadband users made an online purchase, 69% used online banking services, and 55% submitted a review for a product online (qtd. in “Current State”).  The internet as a tool for commerce is clearly very popular.  The version of the internet as we know it “went online” in the early 1990s and almost twenty years later there are just over 800 million worldwide internet users, just over 500 million of those users speak English (“Global Internet Usage.” wikipedia.com. wikipedia, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010, the number 500 million also represents the current population of Facebook users (“500 million stories.” Blog.facebook.com. facebook blog, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010), which in 2009 had a revenue of $800 million (“Facebook ’09 Revenue neared 800mn.” Economictimes.indiatimes.com. economic times, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010).  The internet is clearly a game changer, unfortunately there are some people living in the United States today, mostly in rural areas who do not have access to the internet, and today with the ever increasing amount of bandwidth consuming high definition movies, videos, and high quality music downloads, simply having dial-up internet is not going to cut it, high speed bandwidth is now required to participate in the global marketplace of ideas and products.  There are many barriers to entry that limit a person’s access to high speed internet, two major limitations, include cost, and simply not having it available in a given area.  In most areas Internet Service Providers or ISPs have exorbitantly high costs with speeds that are incredibly low, a report by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) ranked the US 28^th in internet speeds with an average speed of 5.1 Mbps compared to South Korea’s 20.4 Mbps (“US ranks 28^th in internet connection speed.” Psysorg.com. psysorg, n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010) the US is trailing behind but costs make us believe that we are ahead, and in most areas with only a couple of ISPs competition is non existent.  In some rural areas of the country where customers are willing to pay money ISPs have simply not invested in providing internet access to areas of low population density.  If the US government provided high speed internet access to customers nation wide, it would strengthen our economy, democracy, education, and out competiveness abroad.

Providing internet access to Americans without it would be very similar to President Roosevelt’s rural electrification program during the great depression.  Expanding internet access would provide jobs for people to lay the wires and build the equipment necessary to expand the infrastructure, but it would also create long term jobs by building office branches for the internet companies in new areas of the country.   Another boost internetification would bring to the economy would be that it would potentially add millions more would be consumers and internet entrepreneurs to the global marketplace.  Just like the government is required to maintain the streets and sidewalks that provide access to businesses, the government must maintain access to businesses in cyberspace.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, total Internet e-commerce sales for 2008 were $133.7 billion (“IAB Internet advertising revenue report.” iab.net. Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2010) clearly the internet is a major part of the economy.

The internet is now a major function of our nation’s democracy, by providing free speech in ways never before seen.  Before the internet free speech for individuals consisted mainly of what one could speak outloud or write, but freedom of the press was largely enjoyed by those with money, as being part of the press was big business.  Thanks to the internet and the neutrality of the way the data is transmitted, anyone with something to say has a means to reach a massive worldwide audience.  Internet users can use a service called You Tube that is a free service that allows people to submit videos that can be viewed by several millions of viewers world wide for free, in the past that would have never been heard of.  The internet is a very important tool for our democracy, if everyone has a voice they will no longer have to worry about the traditional media being corrupted by advertisesers, now the people have the voices that they never had before.  Expanding the internet will strengthen our nation’s democracy.

The internet has changed the way we learn, thanks to websites like Wikipedia users can learn a multitude of very diverse topics, from the way the government of the United States functions, to the history of door hinges.  In the past people would learn only about what is around them, the internet broadens our horizons by giving us access to a global community of ideas.  No longer are people only exposed to what is in their environment, now someone in Kansas can learn about how someone in Tibet lives, and an expanded worldview and understanding of cultures will help improve our own culture and help us communicate with others in fan ever shrinking world.

Works Cited

“Current State.” Broadband.gov. National Broadband Plan, Web. 7 Dec. 2010

“Global Internet Usage” wikipedia.com. Wikipedia, Web. 7 Dec. 2010

“US Ranks 28^th In Internet Connection Speed” psysorg.com. Psysorg, 2009. Web. 7 Dec. 2010

“IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report” iab.net. Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), 2009. Web. 7 Dec. 2010

“500 million stories.” Blog.facebook.com. Facebook Blog, 2010 . Web. 7 Dec. 2010

“Facebook ’09 Revenue neared 800mn.” Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Economic Times, 2010. Web. 7 Dec. 2010

For more go to michaelkirschner.org

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When I first heard that game developer THQ would be coming out with a new shooter title that would feature a Korean occupation of the United States I did not think much of it, after all the market seemed to be flooded with similar titles, boy was I wrong. For a while now World War II was the setting for every FPS, it was easy to make and did not require any originality or decent story writing because we all get the story part of the game in grammar school. All a WWII game needs is a battle in France, or if you want to “shake” things up in the pacific.

I did not take long however for the World War II setting to become old and stall so game developers started listening to their fans complaints and created games that took place in the present. Games such as Battlefield 2, Bad Company, and Modern Warfare finally moved the genre out of its stale European conflicts that involved Russia, and innovated the genre by having games set in modern Europe involving Russia.

While the change in setting and war was welcomed by all, gamers could not help but feel that the only thing that was changing was the backdrop and that they really were still playing World War II just with a different face.

The developers of Homefront hope to actually evolve the war FPS rather than simply reskin it.  Homefront will add an element not seen in the recent attempt of modern set military shooters and that is the element of humanity.  Rather than an army shooting at another army there will be people trying to live their lives in the chaos that is occupied America.  The player will assume the role not as a nameless army brute but instead as a citizen fighting in a resistance group against a far superior enemy.  One of the first levels starts out in the home of a group of resistance fighters as you as the player look around and explore the homes of the resistance group you will discover that the familiar has become twisted into an unfamiliar state.  As the player moves through a house you will see bunk beds and sleeping bags showing that people have adopted a more communal society, as you move through the backyard you see camouflaged coverings hanging over the backyard, you will see gardens where organic food is harvested, large barrels contain the groups water supply and a man on a makeshift stair master pumps water out of the barrels because the Koreans have destroyed the United States’ power grid through a massive Electro Magnetic Pulse that crippled the power grid two years prior, however the most important thing that you will find in the backyard are people, whether it be a man milking a goat, or a child swinging on a swing.  This gun less level sets up the whole emotion of the game, it will give you as the player something to fight for.

Later on in the game the resistance group is fighting a battle in the parking lot of a Lumber Liquidators, and a Hooters restaurant next door.  The goal of the attack is a hit and run, unlike other games where your army must eliminate all enemy forces, your resistance force is hopelessly outnumbered by a much more powerful enemy, the only way to stay alive is to strike hard and fast and immediately retreat before the other guys have a chance to figure out what just happened.

As of now we don’t know much of Homefront, but I will continue to watch this game with great interest and I will continue to provide updates on Homefront as I hear them.

I would like to give a shoutout to twitter.com/homefrontgame this is a Twitter account set up to market the game and whoever is manning the account provides very prompt responses to fans who talk to that account, its always nice to see a game company that actively communicates and engages with their fans who keep them alive, to bad other companies don’t appreciate the people who give them money.  Good for you THQ, that was not supposed to rhyme.

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Discussion for Jay & Jack’s Lost rewatch.  Leave your question, comments and theories here for Season 1 episodes 5 & 6, “White Rabbit” and “House of the Sun.”

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Leave all questions, comments and theories here for the Lost Rewatch with Jay & Jack for the episodes “Tabula Rasa” and “Walkabout.”

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It’s Lost rewatch time.  Leave any feedback you have from the very first two hours of Lost ever, “Pilot: Part 1″ and “Pilot: Part 2″.  That means questions, comments, and…theories (can we still theorize?!).

P.S. I’ve missed you all since May!

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After a long summer break, YuBlog.org is back in full force! If you want to submit something for publication, please email YuBlog.org@gmail.com.

WE WILL BE DISCUSSING THE ‘LOST’ REWATCH WITH JAY & JACK! Right now, the plan is to put up a discussion post on Sunday nights for whatever episodes will be discussed on the following Wednesday’s release. The same rules that applied for our regular season discussion will still apply for the rewatch discussion. If anyone has any suggestions for how to handle rewatch discussions, let us know.

~Colleen

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Until I can figure out more of a set game plan (sorry, I deliberately spent the past 8 days not thinking), I’m opening this post up for all of your post-Lost chatter.  Any questions you still have or want to bring up here, any comments, any new theories.

I’ll start and I have to credit Karen’s Facebook status for this one: In the episode Dave, Dave tells Hurley, “And when you do wake up, come find me. I’m sure I miss you. See you in another life, Hurley.” [Transcript to that entire episode here]  Back in Season 2, we assumed this was just a figment of Hurley’s imagination totally messing with him.  That could still be it, but with the revelation of what the Sideways was, this definitely takes on a whole new meaning now…

Anyways, the floor is yours now, my friends.  And go!

(Side note: Our deepest condolences go out to Jorge & Beth as they deal with the loss of their dear Chihuahua, Nunu.)

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So here we are at the end of our journey through original episodes of Lost.  Before we begin our final live-episode YuBlog.org discussion, I would like to really thank everyone on Twitter, Facebook and YuBlog for their kind words during this rough week.  I normally try to thank everyone individually but I was so overwhelmed this week that I didn’t have a chance.  Thank you to everyone and it’s so incredible to know that although we are very close to the end of Lost, I feel lucky that I got to know this community.  Thank you for the support and most especially, thank you to everyone who came to participate in YuBlog.org’s discussions and the Jay and Jack Forums talks on Lost each week.  It was MY HONOR to share my Lost experience with everyone each week in real-time for the last 4 seasons.  I’ve always said, “I have always watched Lost alone, but I have never watched Lost alone.”  Thank you so much for being a part of an experience of a lifetime.

So without further adieu, you all know the drill!  Questions, comments, theories, etc on this final episode of Lost, titled “The End.”

Warning: This post WILL contain spoilers, so if you haven’t watched Lost yet, you will be spoiled!

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We’re back to the present day Island storyline this week in the penultimate Lost episode (at this time next week, it’ll all be over!) titled “What They Died For”.  Wow, this is really happening…

Warning: This post WILL contain spoilers, so if you haven’t watched Lost yet, you will be spoiled!

PS If you are going to be in LA during the weekend of May 22 & 23, don’t forget to pre-order one of Jay & Jack’s limited edition posters in honor of the final season of lost.  There’s only 250 this run & they’re selling pretty nicely so far so don’t miss out: http://jayandjackstore.ecrater.com/

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Not to be depressing, but 2 weeks from today, it’s all going to be over.  That said, it’s time to share our questions, comments, and theories about this week’s episode of Lost, called “Across the Sea.”

Warning: This post WILL contain spoilers, so if you haven’t watched Lost yet, you will be spoiled!

PS If you are going to be in LA during the weekend of May 22 & 23, don’t forget to pre-order one of Jay & Jack’s limited edition posters in honor of the final season of lost.  There’s only 250 this run & they’re selling pretty nicely so far so don’t miss out: http://jayandjackstore.ecrater.com/

PPS It’s not on iTunes yet, but if you want to preview or purchase The Lost Podcast Music, Vol. I 2005-2007, then you can do so here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/JayGlatfelter.

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