Low End Mac Reader Specials
TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
OWC: Get the Right Memory for Your Mac Top Quality, Competitive Price, Lifetime Backed Free Expert Support + Installation Videos too! MacBook & mini 8GB, iMac 16GB, Mac Pro up to 32GB. Click here
Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how
to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full
Tilt Poker Mac.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.
Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.
Mac Musings
The Internet Is Social
21 February 2000 - Patrick Griffin
I am most grateful to Patrick Griffin for sending me the following letter in response to The Social Internet. It validates a lot of my thoughts about the study and points to the power of the internet in health research and community creation.
Hello Dan,
I read with much interest your review of Stanford's "research," The Social Internet. I am a graduate student in Adult Education, with an emphasis on Web based training, and particularly on user-centered site design. I am also disabled, and the author of the Kennedy Disease (KD) Web site, found at <http://www.geocities.com/~kd-sbma/>. (Update: Now at http://www.kennedysdisease.org/)
- Kennedy's Disease (KD), named after the neurologist who identified it as a separate disorder with a genetic origin, is also termed spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). It is an X-linked inherited neuromuscular disease that afflicts men, usually when they are 30 to 50 years old. It is similar to Lou Gehrig's Disease (or ALS) in symptoms, but it is more slowly progressive. It is definitively diagnosed by the use of DNA analysis to determine the length of a particular trinucleotide repeats in the androgen receptor gene. It is not entirely understood, has no specific treatment, and has no cure.
I have studied research methodology and its applicability using email and Web sampling. Your comments about the sample selection apparent in this study were on target. Making generalizations about a population based on a non-random sample (therefore non-representative of the population) is a significant flaw in any research. It appears that this study made that error; thus its findings are suspect at best.
I have also studied community development, also from a Web perspective. I found it interesting that the study ignored the use of the Internet as a means to find health or medical information. In my experience, that is a major use, especially for those afflicted with chronic health problems or rare diseases for which there is no cure, such as ALS or KD. I found the following comments astute:
- What's interesting is that the top use of the Internet, email, is most definitely a form of social interaction, as are using the phone, regular mail, or meeting in physical space. In fact, I've found email a great way to create new communities of people with similar interests regardless of physical proximity. Rather than isolating me, email has made me part of several communities, allowing me to interact with thousands of Internet users around the world on a regular basis. Yet the study states the Internet isolates users.
From my standpoint, which is supported by other research, Web access, and particularly email, increasingly promotes social interaction in certain segments of society. In my case, those with rare diseases can share experiences with others throughout the country, and the world. KD is extremely rare, and without the Internet I would probably never have met another so afflicted. The Internet has allowed the formation of a virtual KD community and has certainly made me feel less isolated.
For those with physical disabilities, mobility is often a serious challenge. Again, the Internet allows one to travel without leaving home, and able to see, learn, and communicate in ways available only to those who are able-bodied. Finally, older persons are increasingly becoming a Web presence. The frail elderly gain in ways similar to those who are physically disabled. Others use email to communicate with dispersed friends and family members, thus maintaining both strong social ties and a feeling of belonging.
I support research on the use of the Internet. However, the research
must be put to the same scrutiny and peer review of any other research,
before it is publicized. As Americans are increasingly attuned to
"sound-bite reporting," the terms "shown by research" can give the
mistaken appearance of validity and sway otherwise reasonable people to
make errant conclusions. Institutions of higher learning must develop
and enforce proper research methodologies for using Internet based
data.
Further Reading
- Loneliness and the Internet, Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, Useit.com, 2/20/2000. "Why is the telephone considered a superior form of social contact relative to the Internet...?"
Dan Knight has been using Macs since 1986, sold Macs for several years, supported them for many more years, and has been publishing Low End Mac since April 1997. If you find Dan's articles helpful, please consider making a donation to his tip jar.
Recent Mac Musings
- IDE Is Dead; Long Live SATA!, 11.04. SATA has displaced parallel ATA. While IDE hard drives haven't disappeared, the best deals are in SATA hard drives.
- The Future of Personal Computing: Personal Servers and Low Cost Portables, 11.02. With WiFi everywhere, virtual network computing, and remote access, your iPhone, iTouch, iTablet, or MacBook Air becomes a gateway to your home or office computer.
- The Late 2009 Mac mini Value Equation, 10.21. We called the Mac mini 'the best value in desktop Macs' two months ago, and the refreshed Mac mini only improves that value.
- The Late 2009 MacBook Value Equation, 10.21. The redesigned consumer MacBook uses unibody construction, gains LED backlighting and battery life, but loses FireWire.
- More in the Mac Musings index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 17" iMac G4/800 MHz, July 2002 - The iMac 'grows up' with a 17" 1440 x 900 display.
- Group of the Day: LisaList supports Lisa users.
- November 8 in LEM history: 99: OS 9: I think I like it - 01: The simplified Mac life - Soured on Windows - Flea market Mac - 02: Little room for improvement in new 'Books - Combo drive upgrade for iceBooks - 04: Re-Porter - 05: Fix the old iMac or buy a Mac mini? - Apple's Copland project - 06: MacBook Core 2 - MacBook value equation - Cheap is as cheap does - 07: Problems with Classic mode in Tiger - The G4 Power Mac that won't run Leopard
- Support Low End Mac
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Quad-Core CPU Makes Sense in MacBook Pro, OS X 10.6 Causing Overheating, Overseas Power, and More, The 'Book Review, 11.06. Also Late 2009 MacBook reviewed, how to add RAM to new MacBook, 18.4in Acer notebook used Intel i7, and SanDisk SSD chosen for Sony VAIO X.
- Dumping Macs for Google Apps, SSD in iMac, Late 2009 iMac Performance Problems, and More, Mac News Review, 11.06. /newsrev/09mnr/1106.html
- WiFi Paranoia, iMac-O-Lantern, Magic Mouse Does Click, Free Clipboard Managers, and More, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.05. Also strange time stamps, problem with ColorIt on Intel Mac, and the story behind OS X 10.5.4 install discs.
- QuickTime X in Snow Leopard Imports, Trims, and Publishes Video Quickly and Easily, Alan Zisman, Zis Mac, 11.04. The long, slow process of importing video into iMovie to edit it, then render it to another format, is history as QuickTime X does that much more quickly.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Mac Pro Deals, 11.03. Used 2.66 GHz 4-core, $1,300; 3.0 8-core. $2,299; refurb 2.66 4-core Nehalem, $2,149; 2.93, $2,549; 2.26 8-core, $2,799; 2.93, $4,999.
- Best iPhone Deals, 11.03. New 8 GB iPhone 3G, $$99; refurb 16 GB 3GS, $149; new, $199; 32 GB, $299.
- Best 12" PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.03. Used 867 MHz SperDrive, $348; 1 GHz, $499; 1.33 Combo, $298; SD, $559; 1.5 Combo, $448; SuperDrive, $589.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; G4/366, $49; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.02. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733 MHz, $69; 933 MHz, $209; 1.25 GHz dual, $299.
- Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 11.02. Used 2.0 GHz, $800; 2.2, $900; 2.4, $1,000; refurb 2.53, $1,449; 2.66, $1,699; 2.8, $1,949; 3.06, $2,169; new 2.53, $1,579; 2.66, $1,799; more.
- Best Mac mini Deals, 10.30. Used 1.33 GHz G4 mini, $379; 1.42, $389; 1.5, $419; 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $350; Core 2, $439; new 2.26 GHz nVidia, $580; 2.53 GHz, $770; Server, $990.
- Best G4 iBook Deals, 10.30. Used 12" 1.07 GHz Combo, $225; 1.33 GHz, $298; 14" 1 GHz, $349; 1.33 GHz, $398; 1.42 GHz SuperDrive, $498.
- Best Classic Mac OS Deals, 10.30. System 6.0.8 floppies, $10; 7.1, $12; 7.5, $20; 7.5 CD, $4; 7.6 $13; 8.1, $11; 8.5, $20; 8.6, $90; 9.0, $20; 9.2.2, $30.
- More deals in our archive.
About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts
Navigation
Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists
Favorite Sites
MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System
6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Affiliates
The Apple
Store
Mac
Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial
Memory
batteries.com
Advertise
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
Mac FAQ
Abandonware
Petition
Mac vs. PC Info
Mac Connection
B&H
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com
