Inside View

Watching the Casual Destruction of Women

FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS, I have taught sophisticated university students about changes afoot with the internet culture that wraps around their lives. And in each successive year, the web itself reinforces the idea that it's alright to humiliate people online.

Except for women it's worse because revenge porn is an art form now. If you're jilted by a lover, you just photoshop her face onto another's nude body then pass the creation around Reddit or 4Chan and notch up thousands of views and downloads. Or if you're really talented, put the Shop Job on eBay and auction the clip (complete with full personal details, including home address and phone number).

 Last week, Utah State University had to cancel a talk by pop culture critic Anita Sarkeesian. The university received an anonymous threat to murder everyone who attended the talk. "I have at my disposal a semi-automatic rifle, multiple pistols and a collection of pipe bombs," the anonymous e-mail said. [1]

"We live in a nation of emasculated cowards too afraid to challenge the vile, misandrist harpies who seek to destroy them," read one threat directed at  Anita Sarkeesian on Tuesday. "Feminism has taken over every facet of our society, and women like Sarkeesian want to punish us for even fantasizing about being men. This is why I’ve chosen to target her."

It is not hard finding diatribe just like the vitriol directed at Sarkeesian. The trolls have rounded on me for pointing out the sexism inherent in many mainstream games. When Sarkeesian suggested that gamers might benefit from a small dose of feminism, the same anonymous person who threatened Sarkeesian said he would “write [a] manifesto in her spilled blood.”

Replaced iPad with Surface

"I STOPPED CARRYING my iPad because the Surface is lighter and more capable". That's what two of my students told me this month and it's the primary reason I've shed a faithful piece of technology.

My #WASupKerry Takeaways

Lumia photo of Conall Ó Morain with Chris Byrne.

I SPENT A DAY listening and learning to start-ups sharing stories in Tralee, County Kerry. The hour-long panel discussion in the Audioboom clip below, four pages of notes I scribbled and scrolling info about #WASupKerry on Twitter point to things I should do when enhancing the creative multimedia Honour Degree programme on my home campus in Clonmel.

Screenshots of Dress Language

Looking at Gordon Richardson (Topman).

I HAVE STARTED SAVING screen captures of well-dressed men because I need the motivation to lose weight in order to get a nice look. Today I put Gordon Richardson into my collection.

I'm just about the same age as Gordon Richardson, the creative director of Topman (shown at left). I work with creative multimedia and digital animation students who respect me more when I look the part. I do like to look good because when I've the attention of a lecture hall full of students, I owe it to those present to look like I care.

I used to wear a suit and before that I wore a uniform. Back in the day, my flight suit and Air Force blues could turn heads. I've dropped well down the appearance charts now and want to have a goal to regain some lost stature.

I would like a smart jacket over skinny trousers because I think that combination subverts the expected.

I have to set aside a pile of entertainment money if I truly want to climb up the upmarket creative dress ladder and try to mimic the Jobs Look with a black shirt. I'd go for woven silk tuxedo trousers if you're buying and finish with Nike tennis classic trainers. But first, a gaberdine coat--and that will set me back more than the cost of a fully tricked-out Surface Pro 3 tablet.

[Bernie Goldbach is dreaming in the Limerick School of Art & Design.]

First Look at Microsoft Office @Sway

IT MIGHT TAKE another generation of Office users before Powerpoint dies a natural death and it looks like Microsoft might be trying to speed up the process with its beta launch of Office Sway, a cloud service we're using in the Limerick Institute of Technology.

First Go at Office Sway from Limerick School of Art and Design

Sway is in its early days and open for use through invitation only. Since our creative multimedia curriculum already uses Sharepoint and OneDrive services, Sway hooks in nicely to produce bite-sized perspectives of academic material. Check back next month to see samples of student work or follow @litmultimedia for links to content as it emerges.

[Bernie Goldbach is the senior pilot creative multimedia lecturer at the Limerick Institute of Technology.]

Ireland's Knowledge Economy Needs Childcare Breaks

Kids snapped with iPhone 5C.

MY JOB PRODUCES graduates who enter Ireland's knowledge economy. To do my job better, I need some sort of break on childcare costs.

I don't expect to get a break on this request because I'm part of the squeezed middle class and don't have the time it takes to make big noises that mainstream media put in front of the Irish government. Nonetheless, my wife and I pay more than EUR 740 a month for childcare. That money puts three-year-old Dylan into a creche four days a month and it also offsets the cost of six-year-old Mia after school.

Because I've got the skills needed to cover for lecturers who are on maternity break, my work week extends farther from home base than ever before. For the entire 2013-14 academic term, I traveled 52 miles between classrooms two days a week. This year, I make the 34 mile run between two other campuses one day a week. Those miles are needed because there's no money in the kitty to employ part-time staff to cover gaps in the schedule. Nor is there any sanction for contract staff to offset part of the 25 teaching hours now on my weekly timetable.

Killing Captcha on Instagram

INSTAGRAM STARTED asking me repeatedly for Captcha responses today instead of permitting me to like or comment on images. The annoying problem continued even though I changed my password and removed the app.

However, everything returned to normal after I went to the Instagram site on my Windows Surface, did the Captcha there and then returned to normal ops on my phones.

This is a tactic that works for dozens of people I know.

Busy Day at #feilte with @ymtfm

I SPENT SATURDAY in Dublin's RDS with the Youth Media Team (@ymtfm on Twitter and in the viewfinder of the camera) as they covered Ireland's largest teaching conference (hashtagged #feilte on Twitter). The YMT.fm crew interviewed a dozen speakers and participants, including the Minister for Education, Jan O'Sullivan.

Leaving Cert students who cover these fast-paced events benefit from several elements of the creative multimedia degree programme that we teach in the Limerick School of Art & Design. They learn how to create, produce and syndicate multimedia stories by using a combination of handwritten notes, an online task planner, OneDrive, iPad Minis and Lumia phones. Remarkably, they can record and publish the audio clip--all within the space of 30 minutes.

The YMT.fm crew rotates members. In the past, they have come from counties Kildare, Laois and Tipperary. Their home bases have constrained where the Youth Media Team can cover events so I think I will suggest a way to expand YMT.fm membership to the co-founders with an eye to covering #cong14 with a small team from County Galway.

[Bernie Goldbach is the senior pilot creative multimedia lecturer in the Limerick School of Art & Design.]

Irish Traffic Info in Mobile Browsers

I'VE HEARD SEVERAL radio commentators lament the lack of live traffic info for mobile screens and I have to think they have never used http://m.here.com/traffic on a decent screen. As the screenshot on this post shows, distinct red lines mark places where traffic is slowing down. In another screen, text call-outs show places where road works might affect travel.

Here.com pulls info from a variety of sources and it shows highly relevant facts that have caused me to change routes and modes of travel during the past two year--back when it was Traffic.com. Now traffic.com sits under the Here marquee and that means pure elegance when using Here Drive.

I pin Here details to my Lumia 1520 start screen and I often run a session of power-hungry Waze if I'm worried about speed cameras. But in my experience, a combination of Here Drive and pinned alerts from @aaroadwatch keep me rolling with the shiny side up and the greasy side down.

[Screenshot of Here Drive working parallel to M7 slowdown near Naas, County Kildare, Ireland.]

TripAdvisor Inside Here Maps

I USE ADVICE from trustworthy sources so when I spotted TripAdvisor ratings as a swipe screen inside Here Maps on Lumia, I was impressed.

Some friends discount TripAdvisor and rely instead for wisdom from their slice of the Twitterverse. I personally prefer TripAdvisor because I have used it longer than any other review system and because I have found its information worthy of consideration. I'm happy to see it tightly integrated to Here Maps.

[Screenshot from Here Maps scraped while snaking my way through Kilkenny.]