Several months ago, Microsoft released their new windows operating system: Windows 8. It seemed all sleek and shiny when I first saw the commercial. But when I finally thought about it, I was almost frightened. Since I first started using computers often, I've always been familiar with Windows Vista or Windows 7, as most windows-people are. But the appearance of this new operating system seemed like a completely different way to use a computer.
I decided to look up how the system works and what features it has. The screen that scared me the most, was the screen with all of the tiles. This is essentially a newer, more simplified version of the 'Start' menu. It contains shortcuts to the applications the user chooses. If someone doesn't want to use this menu, they can just hit the 'Desktop' button the classic Windows Desktop will appear.
When an application is run, it appears fullscreen. There is no Windows Sidebar/Toolbar to get in the way. To get back to other applications that are running all one has to do is scroll the mouse to the top left corner of the screen, which reveals all of the running applications. Different programs can also be run next to each other side by side.
In reality, there is really nothing to be worried about when it comes to Windows 8. The system is a little different from it's predecessors, but in less than a month of use, users will be using it's shortcuts to their full capabilities. Still scared? You can always change the settings to make the system run almost the same as Windows 7.
On August 1st, 1981, at 12:01 a.m. you could have turned your television to MTV and heard their first song they aired: "Video Killed the Radio Star." It was the start of a new era in television. A TV station that played music videos all day long was unheard of until now.
MTV was originally an anagram for "Music Television." At the start, it played only in New Jersey. 30 years ago, their music videos were quite sub-par to anything created recently. Usually it was just pictures or video of the band playing. Eventually, fans began to grow tired of the channel's repetitiveness and wanted something different.
In December of 1983, fans did get something different. Micheal Jackson's 'Thriller' video appeared on MTV. This kicked off a new part of music. Not only were artists writing music, but also performing in videos. A lot of people feared that MTV was corrupting their teenagers. MTV censored language videos to try to keep away from this reputation. They also had shows about politics, racism, drugs, AIDS, poverty, and violence. Some artists chose not to make videos because they believed it would corrupt the youth.
Eventually, people wanted more. In 1991, MTV aired it's first reality TV show, 'The Real World.' This began to shy MTV away from music, and into reality TV. Since then, shows like 'Pimp My Ride', 'Jersey Shore', and 'Buckwild', have been extremely popular.
Now if you just wanted a formal idea of MTV's history, you can stop reading here. The rest is my opinion on the subject. Why is it still called "MTV?" Music Television is dead, they should call it RTV, or Reality Television. What really angers me is the fact that back in the 80's, MTV was attempting to not corrupt the youth. Now I think teenagers lose brain cells when they watch shows like Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, or Buckwild.
I really wish that there was a TV station that played only music videos. People might think this is too "old-school" because of online radio and YouTube. "Internet Killed the Video Star," could be the new hit. But radio is still around, so why can't we still have Music Television?
