Taking a vacation is enjoyable for most people. The global economic situation has caused people to travel less. This week’s article suggests an alternative to real travel – virtual vacations. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.
Which of the virtual vacations mentioned in the article seem the most interesting to you. Have you used any of the programs or websites mentioned in the article? If so, what did you think of your experience? What is your impression of the road trip taken by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes? What do you think of their plans for September 19? Read the comments below the article. Find one that you agree or disagree with and make a statement about it.
25 comments:
I find the forest exploration one most interesting, mainly because I'm wondering how they could get all the details correct. I've used Google Earth but other than that I haven't. It was interesting, but not that interesting, it was still a picture or an animation, unlike the real thing. I think the road trip was interesting, much better than Google Earth though. For the tour of all of NYC, I think it's going to be very hard. For one, it's very crowded, secondly it's a huge city and will take a lot of time to tour. I'm curious about comment 2. If America is the most powerful nation is the world, how come London has a better view? If I where to answer him in probably say (it's probably because they have a better satellite camera).
First To Comment =D
I think "I wrote about Second Life" is the virtual vacation that interested me the most because I thought that it was really cool to be a person in cyberspace and be traveling all over the world. I have never tried any of the programs or websites that were mentioned in the article or any other programs and websites because I clearly do not have the time to do so. I find the road trip taken by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes is quite cool because they were able to find other ways to take a “road trip” when they are both in different states. I think that their plan for September 19th is awesome. By showing the virtual tour of New York City to a live audience, it would get much more people into using the website GoogleMapsRoadTrip.com and it would get their creation out there and soon many people my be using it then going on real tours in other countries. I disagree to the comment made by Virginia because it depends on the person to like virtual vacations or not so this commenter obviously doesn’t like what Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes created but it seems that he/she is trying to convince people into being against it and find it “truly depressing” which is not the right thing to do.
-Rachel
I think the idea of taking road trips is a great idea, its actually very thoughtful of them to do in such a smart idea, I think it would make people recognize more places in an easier, and fun way. And, for the "Second Life" program, that is also a very great idea, to meet new people, actually search places, and learn more about these places, and get to recognize them better. There are also many facts about them, that would help a lot too, the forest explorating is the exact same idea of The Second life.
This article is rubbish I would not pay a cent for that service I would pay for an MMORPG though like World of Warcraft but what is the point in exploring the world in a cartoon digital world it is so pointless its not even funny. I wouldn't even use that if I was crippled or if I couldn't afford a quality vacation even if it was free the most pointless thing you could do in my opinion is stare at a bloody screen with cartoon dolphins.
This article is complete bovine excrement. I wouldn't pay anything for that type of graphics and technology. 45$!!! That is like buying a tank to crack a walnut. I could make better 'games' than that. Plus, if you take virtual travel seriously, I think that is sad. Because then anyone anywhere could go anywhere, with none of the hardships which makes it impressive to go to such a place. I would much rather travel to a real place, with real things than stare at a computer screen. The extent of my virtual world traveling is video games, but I'm not saying, "Ooh, Un'Goro Crater is such a beautiful place, oh I love the Devilsaurs there!"
I completely agree with Karim's comment. BUT.... ...i think that the most interesting tour would be the forest, to see things that you would never see in the forest. But an animation will never be as adventurous as real life. I have only used google earth and a tour would be hard to make through a city because of all the detail and density of objects.
None of the virtual vacations mentioned seem interesting to me. I have never used any of the programs mentioned in this article. My impression of the road trip taken by Horowitz and Baldes was that it was ridiculous. The point of vacations is to get away for a while and break free from the daily routines, like sitting on the computer. Instead, these guys sat it front of a computer for days, wasting their time on something that’s not even real. The plans they made for Sept. 19th sound a bit more reasonable because its purpose seems to be to educate and entertain an audience. I agree with the comment written by Virginia. She is saying how it is just armchair traveling taken to a different level, and that people actually taking vacations on their computers is truly depressing.
My favorite was the first one mentioned in Australia. I’ve never been to Australia or scuba diving before so I found that pretty cool. Yes I have used, Flickr and Myspace before but I’ve never seen those applications on them. I didn’t like the road trip thing. I think that’s for people who have way too much time on their hands and are just plain bored. “Am I the only one who wants to cry upon reading this? I find most travel writing depressing because, well, I’m sitting at home reading instead of in Scotland or Beijing doing whatever. (Travel advice columns like this one are the exception.) The thought of following two people on a nonexistent road trip makes me wonder not why they don’t have something else to do with their time (it’s their time), but why I or anyone else watching wouldn’t. I suppose it’s just armchair traveling taken to a different level, but the thought of anyone seriously taking a vacation on their computer is really, truly depressing to me.”
— Virginia
I agree completely with this person. This is exactly how I feel.
I have like 2 oppinions about this article.
First, I find extremely strange and stupid a person who would replace real trips for a virtual ones. What is the point of a vacation, then? People go on a trip to get away from things, to relax. And these guys waste their time (which they could use by travelling around the world, like Paris, New York, Africa), they sit by the computer looking at the screen and wishing they were there.
Secondly, I'm not saying that that isn't fun sometimes, especially for a person who doesn't have enough money to pay the trip. Then, I guess it is fun to explore other places and think about being there (that is, of course, if a person doesn't have the money to pay for it). It is also good to get to know the place before making a big step and paying a hell lot of money for something that you just might not like and be dissapointed.
At the same time, there are many sites with practical tips for people that are planning to travel somewhere...
I do think that it could be fun, even for a person who can afford the trip to have some fun exploring virtual places.
I have never visited any of those virtual sites, but in the future I just might sometime for fun.
But my main point is that, definetelly real trips are so much better!
This article was interesting. I really don't see the point of making virtual vacations, when you can just have real vacations. Isn't that the point of vacations anyways? To get away from reality? It's not very realistic when you know that its all through a computer screen, and you know that it's not really there. I thought one of the interesrting virtual vacations mentioned in this article was virtually stalking strangers around the world on myspace.com. This would actually be pretty fun if you were bored and had nothing better to do. I personally have not used any of these programs or websites, and don't intend on doing so. I think that Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes's road trip was extremely creative and I definitely wouldn't have thought of doing that myself. However, their plans for September 19 are kind of over doing it and I don't think many people would be that interested in watching it, myself included. Out of all of the comments posted on this article, I'd have to agree the most with Johns' comment saying "This is OK for young children. It’s an oxymoron for adults. Travel is about being there, smelling, tasting touching, encountering the unexpected, getting to know the local people and following the footsteps of the great people of history. How do I now this? I’ve done it!". This is all true. It might be fun for little kids but grown ups staying at home and going on vacations online is depressing. They should be experienced firsthand in real life.
-Leila :)
The virtual vacation that I found most interesting was that of Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes (GoogleMapsRoadTrip.com). I have never used any of the programs or websites mentioned in the article. I have taken many terrific real-life vacations, and have no intention of trying any virtual vacations. Judging from what I read, they seem like kind of a waste of time. However, I do believe that the virtual roadtrip taken by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes is a fascinating concept. I can't really envision how the two guys will conduct a virtual tour of New York City. I will be interested to see if they can pull it off on September 19. I agree with the fourth comment under the article that states how depressing it is that people take the time to venture on and pay attention to virtual vacations. By definition, "virtual vacations" are not real. They are the equivalent of doing nothing at all.
I really think you have to travel for real in order to experience a new country or a new place. You can’t just sit in front of a computer. Virtual traveling might give you a chance to «see» other places, but it’ll never let you smell or feel where you are. I’ve used Google Earth, but none of the other websites.
A virtual vacation using Google Earth or Google Maps seems quite interesting though, like a journey in my fantasy, with no limits. So, the trip by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes is rather fun. It’s actually more real than just an ordinary virtual tour, since it is based on real maps. Combining You Tube and Google Maps for a tour of New York is a great idea that only tells us that there are no limits as to what you can do.
But I also agree with Harvey, who September the 2nd posted a comment that Horowitz & Baldes rather than using «Google Maps» or some other virtual method of traveling could have actually experienced a vacation by taking a bus to the last stop and then finding new neighborhoods or suburbs or whatever.
By doing so they would also have met people, thus adding a lot to their traveling experience.
Idunn
I find none of the virtual vications were found interesting to me because I had never even tried it. And for the impression of the road trip taken by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes is such a waste of time because they will have a hard time pointing maps in Google maps, because it is so complicated. They could just look at the specific map to where they are traveling and have a clear view of where they are exactly leaving off to. And its only going to be hard for them to do it by themselves and conduct a virtual tour of New York City. I just hope they don't give up and pull it up to September 19. My statement is that if you really decided to make a real virtual tour, you should at least have some basic skills and be experienced.
i don't really find anything that interest me, but if I have to pick one, I would say that Road Trip sounds fun and think will be useful than the others. Unfortunetely, I never have used any of the programs or the website mentioned in the article, not even the Google Earth. My impression of the road trip taken by Marc Horowitz and Pete Baldes tells that it was meaningful, but waste of time to me. We have vacation to have time to rest out, not to make works for yourselves. Plans for September 19 is also kind of ridiculous in some ways. I think they are trying to do things to hard, and waste money on it. I agree with Sam's comment, eventhough i think he oversaid it. I do really think people should have real trip rather then experiencing ones from the articles.
i think having a road trip is really nice of them i think it would make people explore the world. it is also good for people to meet new friend, and experience the the virtual tours. they also said test this new update and the result were positive and they said you will feel more relaxed.that why i agree with this article.
I have not yet experienced one of these. I think the road trip is a fascinating idea, because if a holiday is too pricey nowadays, people can easily improvise with a computer.The one flaw of this idea is the experience is not always the same. Sometimes, you need to be there, to know the actual, special feeling. Unless there is something very special that needs to really be experienced, The Sept. 19 idea is a good idea
I think the forest exploration is one of the most interesting, because i am curios of how they get details so accurate and correct. I used many others like Google earth and many more. It wasn't that interesting, it wasn't as good as the real picture. My impression of the road trip was that it is really good and better than Google earth and other satellite engines. I think their plans for NYC is going to e harder than any other projects. I agree with Alan because he is right about NYC.
I find the forest exploration part seemed amazing because i have been in small forests but this really seemed amazing. i liked the description they used in the article was very specific and made me want to go to VIRTUAL VACATION!!!! :D :D :D
I think that the virtual vacation is really interesting, because no one has used it before and its really cool, because it is real and fun in a modern way, I think that everything was interesting, I think that the tour for NYC is a cool one because it has a lot of details, I still don't understand how they got to this technology. That is really cool. Of course I would do that even if it takes a million dollars
This is a very peculiar article, because I cannot imagine human beings actually going to a virtual vacation. I know there are people with a big family which cannot afford going, to Hawaii itself, but I mean there’s always beaches in the same country, or maybe even up in the woods. This Virtual thing is still not in my head, I mean when the person knows is fake he won’t be having fun, its just another waste of money. The Grand Canyon was my favorite virtual vacation, and it’s more interesting than all the others. I still haven’t opened a website mentioned in the article, but I will for sure in my free time. September 19 for Pete and Mark will be remarkable, and a smart project. I agree with Virginia, the most because the comment is totally right “The thought of following two people on a nonexistent road trip makes me wonder not why they don’t have something else to do with their time” That’s what I agree with the most in his comment.
I don't agree that America is the most powerful nation in the world because London has so much better view of things. I found this blog really interesting though and it really made me want to experience a "virtual vacation" even though that's probably impossible for now. I thought that the most interesting virtual vacation was "I wrote about second life". I liked it because i think it would be cool to travel in cyberspace.
By Dunya
I find this article completely pathetic. When people go on vacations they go to have fun, to get away from everything, and to escape. People want to be in a different surrounding and sitting by your computer is not a valid one. The idea of sitting and going on a "virtual vacation" may be appealing to a certain type of person but to many it would be a flop, it could appeal to younger or older children who can not travel, or to people who can not necessarily afford the travel expense I would personally never do this and would not recommend anyone to do this.
I think the most interesting one is the petrified forest because I have never been to one. If was not able to go to a petrified forest at least I would be able to take virtual tour which I have not tried yet. I honestly think that virtual tours are there for people who cant travel but the whole point of travailing is going to another country and experiencing the different things. I think the road trip they took is cool because as a minor I have never drove and I think it will be a cool experience. A comment that I agree with is the one a person named John said that traveling is about going smelling, tasting all the different things. But I don’t agree with him because there are some people who cant afford to travel and this is a good opportunity for them.
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