UNLVirtual
Spring 2011 Vol. 1 Issue 5
UNIVERSAL NEWSLETTER FOR VIRTUAL & DIGITAL MEDIA
this issue Second Life Companies P.1
Upcoming Events Greenspun College of Urban Affairs Research Symposium Students from all departments of the College of Urban Affairs exhibit ongoing research with poster presentations. *Open to the public. Date: Wed., April 20 Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Location: GUA Lobby, First and Second floors Research in Second Life Workshop Learn about researching in the virtual world on pertinent topics including the social sciences and digital innovations. *RSVP by Apr. 22 Date: Mon., April 25 Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Location: GUA 1125
Second Life Nokia Island
History of Tablet PCs P.2
Real companies have Second Lives By Zeenath Haniff
For some major corporations, Second Life is a place of business. Take it to be a 3D corporate website where users have interactive access to a company’s products, services and customer support. A number of wellknown companies have maintained their virtual presence in 2011. Search for their SLURLs.
Air France ABC Amazon American Cancer Society Dell IBM Nokia Phillips Siemens Innovation Connection
Survey says: Tablets used for gaming By Zeenath Haniff
The latest technological craze in the past year has been the advent of the portable tablet personal computer, recently relaunched by media mogul Apple in a sleek, modernized touchscreen interface known as the iPad. Unique tablet features include a virtual keyboard and handwriting recognition. Tablet usage has been in question as new applications and innovations are constantly advertised to prove the device is just as useful, if not more so, than the more commonly owned desktop computer or laptop.
According to Google’s AdMob survey of 1,430 tablet owners, the standard for tablet use is thought to be informationseeking tasks (78%), sending emails (74%) or reading current news (61%). The actual results? A majority admits to using their tablet to play games, for entertainment such as music and videos, and as an e-book device: Gaming Entertainment E-Book
84% 51% 46%
Owners add that possessing a tablet has reduced their desktop and laptop usage by 77%. Tablet pg. 2
UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 1
Thoughts or Questions? Feel free to share your virtual or digital experiences and research findings. Need to find out more about virtual reality or e-newspapers? Ask us! Submit articles and questions to the Virtual & Digital Media office via email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu
Media Technology for the Future History of the Tablet PC Tablet PC Tablet cont. pg. 1
The most talked about tablet is iPad, introduced in 2010 and shortly followed by an improved version in 2011, iPad 2. But the iPad had numerous, and relatively forgotten, predecessors who tested out the ground-breaking concept before paving the path for its success. Apple actually followed far behind the footsteps of other companies who introduced the hand-held tablet PC to an audience not yet prepared to embrace the innovative media technology. One of the earliest tablet computers was the RAND Tablet, also known as the Styalator, first introduced in 1964 and sold for $18,000.00. The computer featured a stylus pen capable of handwriting recognition on the drawing surface of the screen. Later versions included the following tablet PCs:
Contact Info UNLV College of Urban Affairs Virtual & Digital Media 4505 Maryland Pkwy Box 455007 Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-5007
RAND Tablet (1964)
GridPad (1989)
Compaq Tablet (2001)
1960
2010
Lawrence Mullen, Ph.D. Director Phone: 702-895-4491 Email: lawrence.mullen@ unlv.edu Zeenath Haniff Research Assistant Phone 702-895-0035 Email: haniffz@ unlv.nevada.edu
Apple Graphics Tablet (1979)
NCR System 3125 (1991)
iPad (2010)
UNLV College of Urban Affairs . Virtual & Digital Media . | Pg. 2