Episode 3

1. According to Krukowski, what are the main differences between a microphone and a cellphone and why is this difference important?

The main difference is that microphones are analog, and cellphones are digital. The problem with digital is that to send information it needs to be compressed to be transmitted. When audio data is compressed, it has a lot of information lost that computer engineers didn’t think was necessary, which reduces the sound quality.

2. What do Krukowski and Gary Tomlinson, the professor he interviews, assert about the “musical” qualities of the voice and how are these changed by digital transmission?

Before human language we had musical utterances, Gary even thinks that memory of musical utterances is part of our genetics. Digital transmission is better at only sending the words and the musical quality can be lost.

3. What is the significance of Krukowski’s comments on the voice to ideas about community and interpersonal connection?

Online communication helps us connect from long distances. But while we are making use of these communication equipment, we lost quality of that connection when the range of sounds in our voice is limited and sometimes the connection is dropped.

Episode 4
4. Krukowski begins by discussing the issue of music file sharing. What is your opinion of this issue? Should music be freely available or should one have to pay?

I believe that music should be available for everybody for a fair price. Because it would be a disrespect for the professionals in that area if they don’t get any money from their job.

5. How does this episode represent the relationships between music, community, and culture?

It discusses the value of music and separates it from the value of the technology its associated with. It discusses music sharing and how that impacts the economy of the music industry, and how it changed how people think about the transfer of music information. It also discusses how different cultures use music technology differently, like the Berber people of north Africa and their fascination with autotune.