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Discuss the latest trends and developments on the use of IT and informatics in the entertainment industry
Contributed by Carter

The HD Format War
The most recent happenings in the IT and entertainment industries proved to be the waging and the eventual outcome of the HD Format war.

Similar to the VHS and Betamax video cassette tape 'battle' in the 1980s, this 'war' was to decide the de-facto format over which entertainment releases weredistributedin. The DVD era was coming to a close and there was a need to deliver a medium that could store HighDefinition video and also beefficientand cheaply produced. What started out as technological breakthroughs in the IT and electronics sector ended up 'fighting' each other on the entertainment front.

Blue laser diodes
The advent of both formats (HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc) can be contributed to the technological breakthroughs of Shuji Nakamura of Nichia Chemical Industries, as he developed a way to construct small, convenient and low priced blue UV lasers. These lasers with a shorter wave-length than those found in a conventional DVD ROM drive could read and write more data with the same amount of physical space.

Blu-Ray
Blu-ray discs use the newtechnologyof blue lasers to read and write data and subsequently can store up to 25-50 GB of data per disc. The Blu-ray Disc is developed by the Blu-Ray Disc Association which is fronted by Sony.

An early prototype of the Discs featured a plastic protective cover as the discs were prone to damage by dust and scratches, this would alleviate fears among companies who would want to adopt the medium for themselves, fearing that the disc would not be a durable format to distribute in. Also thecartridgewould mean that a different slot would be needed than the ones made for other standard disc forms and sizes (which would mean it would be harder to develop multi-format players/recorders).

However, TDK developed an polymer coating upon the finalization of the Blu-ray format to defer these problems and the cartridge shell was omitted from the final form.

HD-DVD
HD-DVDs were developed initially as a step up from the current convention DVDs available, attempting to 'squeeze' data on the same disc. However, the attempts were futile and eventually they used the blue-laser technology that Shuji Nakamura made available. Theconglomeratelooking over the HD-DVD format were the DVD forum (headed by Toshiba).

HD-DVDs were made available in both 15 to 30 GB capacities.

The attempts to avoid a format war

Forseeing the oncoming format war similar to that of the 1980s (in which Sony's Betamax format proved the eventual loser), many 3rd parties attempted to merge or defer the conflict and instead unite the adopters of both formats. Notably, Hewlett Packard tried to coax the Blu-Ray Association to adopt HDi, a interactive format that Microsoft developed for the HD-DVD discs.

However, both formats soon formed different camps and soon the lines were drawn.

Launch and the War proper
Upon launch in 2006, the HD-DVD seemingly gained the upper hand over Blu-ray's initial slow sales. This is backed by the fact that most early BD players and recorders were slow and buggy.

In the entertainment sector, some movie/production studios decided to release 'format exclusives', movies like Transformers from Paramount Pictures were only released in HD-DVD and therefore developed an incentive to 'side' with one format opposed to the other.

But the tides soon turned for Blu-ray, much thanks to Sony's Playstation3 gaming console, which used Blu-Ray discs as its medium. Despite rival Xbox360's add-on HD-DVD peripheral, the PS3 single-handedly push the stakes in Blu-Ray's favor. Studios are starting to regret to release format exclusive releases and realize that it was a bad marketing move which led to stymieing sales of their consumer releases.

Eventually, everything went against Toshiba and its HD-DVD format. In January, major publisher Warner Bros. announced that it would stop releasing their shows on the HD-DVD by June 2008. Major video rental company Netlfix announced its preference towards Blu-Ray Discs, thereby ostracizing the HD-DVd adopters.

A month later, in recognizing the recent developments against their HD-DVD format, Toshiba announced its stopof supporting the format and its players and recorders.

Useful Links:
Unofficial List of HD-DVD Titles released (at that time)
Here

IGN's article on the rise and fall of HD-DVD
Here

Amazon.com's best of Blu-ray exclusives
Here

Wikipedia's entry to Blue Laser Diodes
Here

Official DVD Forum Website
Here

Official Blu-ray Disc Association
Here

Personal Opinion
Personally I felt that the turning point for the HD-DVD downfall and the war to go out of hand is when they decided to release exclusive movies
to each format, thereby ostracizing potential customers/viewers that only had one format's player. The lead to user frustration and the loss of revenue if the movie/show was released in both formats. The tactic to make customer adopt a format's player ultimately lead to lack of revenue by both sides. Blu-ray eventually won because of the support of Sony's PS3 console and the switching of sides from the likes of Warner Bros and Netflix.

Citation:
Main resource
Drawbaugh,B. (2008). Two years of battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray: a retrospective.
Retrieved May 21, 2008, from http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/20/two-years-of-battle-between-hd-dvd-and-blu-ray-a-retrospective/

Evaluation of resource:
The article tries it best in trying to denote nobiasesto either side of the Format war and summarizes the happenings over the past 2 years and beyond. It gives good information behind the background of each of the formats and tries to explain the market impact of each development. However, the article does not describe theoriginsof the HD formats in blue laser technology; of which I had to discover for myself.

The resource was useful as it also depicted market data that I had not previously discovered before, and the illustrations and pictures to accompany the text. Furthermore, the information on the page also led to links to relevant news that was associated with the topic, making research on the topic an easier experience.
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Discuss the impact of the Integrated Resort (IR) on Singapore’s tourism industry
Contributed by Gen

Introduction
Singapore Tourism is a very well organized industry not only because of its infrastructure, but also because of its safety, cleanliness and efficiency of the entire system. It attracts millions of tourists from all over the world and is amongst the top few tourist destinations in Asia. Singapore tourism offers a large cultural diversity not only from its colonial past but also from the many Chinese, Indians, Malay and Arabs who have settled here. At the same time you will find the best modern facilities and cleanliness throughout Singapore. English is the most popular language here which makes it easier for most western tourists to conveniently adjust to the new environment.

With that, a proposal was put forth, placing Sentosa and Singapore as a top family destination that tourists must not miss. The proposal reflects the IR as a large-scale, family resort with top-notch entertainment and attractions along with many other variety of fun.

Summary

Tourism Appeal
Based on the tourist crowd in Singapore, the Tourism Board has decided to build Integrated Resorts (IR), from Genting’s proposal of an excellent IR development to boost the appeal and the tourist numbers in Singapore. That is what the Singapore Tourism Board hopes to achieve, new casinos to be built in Singapore to strengthen Singapore’s appeal on the whole. These Singapore casinos are set to be fully constructed in 2010.

As part of the Singapore Integrated Resorts scheme, the government of Singapore has issued two casino licenses. One was issued to Las Vegas Sands Inc. who’ll be responsible for the Marina Bay Integrated Resort Project. The second license for the casino, the Sentosa Casino Resort, projects has been awarded to Genting International.

A Universal theme park will be the main attraction at the integrated resort (the largest theme park in Asia), along with resort accommodation, retail space, attractions, and more entertainment, and not to forget, the casino.

Overall
Singapore has put in much planning, and public debates as to the pros and cons of legalizing gambling and casinos. There were many components with regards to possible social harms, but overall, these integrated resorts (IR) are considered an important component of the government's long term strategy to increase the tourism and hospitality services sector.

Reference
Singapore Tourism Board, Government of Singapore. (2006). Genting International and Star Cruises wins the bid for the Integrated Resort on Sentosa. Retrieved May 29, 2008 from http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/new/new03a.asp?id=6023

Evaluation of resource
As this article is featured in the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) website under their Media Releases, there is enough reason to believe it is a reliable article. It is a report on the announcement by the Government’s Tender Approving Authority.

This article provides sufficient information on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Integrated Resort (IR) in Singapore. It explains the evaluation process and a precise summary of the overall proposal. Since the STB website provides reports of news and events – media releases, speeches – and publications, this allows readers to be able to browse through articles and be in the know about the tourism industry in Singapore.

Readers can also do a search within the STB website which may be useful when they are looking for a particular article or others.
All in all, this website has proven to be trustworthy and informative regarding the new upcoming IR projects in Singapore.

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Discuss the impact of alcoholism abuse on youths
Contributed by Kaiwen

Introduction
According to the resource, 70 percent of youth have tried alcohol by the eighth grade and nearly 11 million youth age between 12 and 20 were reported using alcohol in the last 30 days. For many of these youth, their chances for a successful and productive life will be sabotaged by these early intoxication experiences (alcohol abuse).

Alcohol is a drug, a substance that changes the way the body or mind functions. Alcohol is also the number one drug of choice for teens. As youth gets older, there’s a notable increase in drinking, and they’re at a particular risk for engaging in excessive drinking and experience alcohol related problems. Active use of alcohol can be an impact to the youth’s academic, social and health.

Summary of Resource

Academic impact
Referencing to the resource, drinking has proven to have a direct negative effect on the student's grades. A Michigan study of three school districts observes the truancy rate and average grade achieved be junior high students and tenth graders. The statistics showed that students who used alcohol were more likely to skip school, and non-drinkers were more likely to obtain the top grades.

This shows that alcohol consumption impacts the youth’s school performance, by affecting part of the brain (hippocampus) involved in memory and learning which result in students getting lower grades and having poor attendance.

Social impact
Youth who abuse alcohol are more prone to problems with friendships as they’re more likely to skip class school compared to non-drinkers. This builds up communication barrier and disallows interaction. Heavy drinkers are also more likely to damage school property or engage in a fight. Dropping out from school may also lead to education and job opportunities problems.

The source also states that alcohol is a factor in 41 percent of all academic problems and 28 percent of all academic dropouts. It also states, “Each year college students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more than they spend on all other beverages or on books combined”.

Health impact
The studies and researches shows that 95 percent of violent crime on campus is alcohol-related; 90 percent of reported campus rapes involve alcohol use by either the assailant or the victim or both; 60 percent of college women acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS, were under the influence of alcohol. The number one killer of 15- to 24-year-olds is alcohol-related auto accidents.

Personally I feel that alcohol abuse impairs judgment and leads to impulsive and risky behaviours such as: unprotected or unwanted sex, drink drive, failure to follow laws and safety precautions. It can also be harmful to one’s health e.g. liver cancer, nutritional deficiencies, digestive problems, heart and central nervous system damage, memory loss, sexual problems, and injury or death from overdosing, violent crime, and drink driving accidents.

References
National Institute of Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism, USA. (October 2007). Underage drinking-highlights from the Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and reduce underage drinking. Retrieved May 26, 2008, from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA73/AA73.htm

Evaluation of the resource
The website is a resource setup by the government to engage the public on the impact of alcoholic abuse among youths. The government want to educate youths on the consequences caused by alcohol is dangerous. It also helps family, friends and community to seek knowledge on prevention and actions in getting the treatment.

Source provided is well maintained and updated, authentication is not required to view the resources posted. Objective is focused on the impact caused by youth drinking. Since it is a government website, it should not contain any biasness and content can be trusted. Information is shared in user-friendly and is free to download PDF format.