Legal and Ethical Issues

        I read an article titled "Mutual Interest hidden beneath Samsung and Apple Struggle" on "http://www.therealnews.com. This article discussed the ongoing legal battles waging in several different countries between two technological giants, Apple and Samsung.  Both Apple and Samsung are suing each other over matters of copyright infringement.  They each claim that the other has stolen technologies and sued them for mass amounts of profit.  I would like to investigate, not who is correct or incorrect, but rather the potential ramifications of such a legal struggle. Both Apple and Samsung are dedicating hundreds of millions of dollars into their legal battle.  It is a matter on on the forefront for both companies.  But, I worry that the increased focus in time and finances on legal issues is preventing technological progress.  It is possible that by focusing so much on suing one another, the companies will forget about what made both of them powerhouses in the first place: supplying superior technological products to the public. 

Privacy and Security

          In today's ever changing world, more and more of our lives are being spent online.  But as we spend more and more time online, we also are constantly sharing more of our information online.  We make credit card purchases and store very pertsonal infromation on cloud computing services.  While the many advantages of computer and online usage could be detailed for days on end, the potential ramfications of this technological use need to be addressed.  As discussed in the article "How Megadata Brought Down CIA Boss David Petraeus, Google recently published that "the U.S government made nearly 8,000 requests on its users' accounts in the last six months," and that aproximately 90% of those requests were either partially or completely obliged.  Clearly, information that we believe to be private on the Internet is no longer so.  Can we trust our information to behemoth companies such as Amazon and Google, knowing there is a possiblility the information we have entrusted in them could be shared with others?  Do the people who gain access to this information have the legal rights to invade our privacy?  These are questions that our way above my head, but ones that Internet users must be aware of when transmitting any information of value over the Internet.  We must know the potentail ramifications of storing and transmitting information on the Internet and than determine whether such activity is truly worthwhile. 

Twitter

I personally prefer Twitter conversations to to those done Blackboard and Blogging.  This is mainly because of the ease of contacting people through Twitter.  On Twitter, one can directly contact another party in a manner that can be seen on the party's wall. But through Blackboard and Blogging, communication is limited because it can only be perfoermed through commenting on others posts.  Twitter conversations are just much more efficient than those which occur through Blackboard and Blogging. 
On my Twitter account, I followed  a company called Adar IT, which is a cloud computing service located in Lincolnwood, IL.  Many of their posts on Twitter appear to be links that promote the the benefits of cloud computing.  They are using Twitter to advertise their company. 

Social Media

              I am on two social networking websites: Twitter and Facebook.  I just created a Twitter today for this Computers and Society course.  In regards to how I feel about Twitter, I have not spent enough time on Twitter to fully comment on it.  But upon creating my Twitter account, I am now following four of my favorite sports writers on Twitter.  I look forward to being able to appreciate their insights on a consistent basis.  I believe this is the main advantage of Twitter, to be able to provide a constant flow of information to people who would otherwise go without it.   The other social networking site I am on is Facebook.  I believe Facebook, and Twitter too, can serve as the ultimate time waster.  Therefore, I avoid spending more than a few minutes on any particular day on Facebook.  I believe that the main advantage to Facebook lies in the increased  ability it allows its users to communicate.  I cannot pinpoint which social networking website I prefer.  Yet, I do enjoy the benefits of the increased information of Twitter and the improved communication that Facebook allows.

                Virtual worlds are online services that allow people to function and live online as if they were in the real world.   Personal avatars can be created, and users can use them to live vicariously through them on the Internet.  As cited in the CNN article Going to the Virtual Office in Second Life, users can go on walks, drink coffee, and even entertain international business meetings on virtual worlds.   Virtual worlds can also serve safe havens for people with difficulties managing in traditional social settings.  For those whom normal human interaction is a constant struggle, life in the virtual world can allow them to thrive in ways  beyond their wildest dreams.  In regards to having my dreams fulfilled, if I had an avatar in the virtual world, I would want to be a sports play by play analyst.

World Wide Web

      I believe that in the near future, the World Wide Web will continue to strengthen itself in becoming an integral, indispensable asset for individuals, businesses, and countries.  As a society, we are becoming more and more dependent on the Internet to function in our daily lives.  Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are becoming more and more prevalent in individuals’ lives.  From across every spectrum of society, people are constantly utilizing email services.   The search engine and information powerhouse Google is one of the largest compaines in the world.  Businesses of all kinds utilize cloud cloud computing throught the World Wide Web. According the New York Times article ‘The Cloud Challenges Amazon,’ the cloud is a service which provides storage and computing power for all kinds of Web sites and services.”  While these services such as cloud computing offer many advantages, they include drawback that we are essentially at the mercy of the services subscribed to through the World Wide Web.    As stressed in the New York Times article, ‘The Cloud Challenges Amazon’, technological services are bound to break down, and people and business must be prepared for anything.  Despite the inevitable problems of the World Wide Web, I envision the advantages of the World Wide Web outweigh its drawbacks, and people will use the World Wide Web as their primary source for communication, enjoyment, and information in making the World Wide Web an indispensable tool that is prevalent in every aspect of daily living. 

 

Networks and Communication

     As with most things, new communication technology has its pros and cons.
     New communication techology such as email, texting,  IM, and Skype have have many great great advantages that serve as proponents for their usage.  Instead of waiting weeks for such material to arrive in the mail, through the power of the internet, documents can be sent thousands of miles in seconds with the click of a button.  By utilizing video communication technology such as Skype or Face Time, the inhibition of space can be minimized as doctors can see their patients face to face.  These instant communication technologies are also helpful in the non working world.  Friends and family can communication for simple things like catching up on old times and arranging carpools or for more serious matters in times of emergency.  These functions are served in cheaper and more instantaneous ways via the likes of texting, email, and Skype.  Essentially, new communication technology offer more instantaneous and cheaper methods of communication that are utilized in many different avenues of life. 

            But these new features of communication come with a downside.  As noted in the article published by the International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, You’ve Got Mail! Shall I Deal With It Now? Electronic Mail from the Recipients Perspective, e-mail, as it continues to play increasingly large parts of our lives, “appears to have to potential to tyrannize, overload, and enslave is users.”  I was speaking with two friends of mine, one of whom is a statistician and the other, who works in computers.  The two of them bemoaned the fact that they often spend so much time responding to emails that they feel like they cannot acually get any work done.  Email and other technologies  are so instantaneous, that we become overly absorbed in them; spending so much time and energy that we are often distracted from our other important tasks like driving and work.  Not only do they serve as distractions, but new communication technologies oftentimes bombard us with unwanted and sometimes dangerous information through the likes of spam and phishing.   These technologies have the potential to overload our lives in ways that have potentially serious ramifications. 

            Technology offers potential pitfalls, and we must work our best to mitigate them.  In concern to the dangers of unwanted information such as spam and phishing, the optimal strategy for communicatin techology users is to update the security settings on the software they are using to prevent people from gaining the information that helps promote these bothersome activities.  In regards to the issues of becoming overly distracted by new communication techology and the dangers it brings to the likes of drivers and others, the best advice I can give is to ovoid overdependence on new communication techologies and place priority on the pressing issues at hand.  We must focus on what is in front of us, and if that means putting down your cell phone while driving, then so be it.  In the end, it is up to each individual technology user to not let technology gain control of his or her life.  

Daniel Gutstein: Computers and Society Blog #1: Introduction

My name is Daniel Gutstein.  I am a junior at Northeastern Illinois University and am majoring in Economics and Communications.  I am taking Computers and Society 100 because it is a General Education requirement.  Outside of school, I like to spend time with my family, exercise with my dad, volunteer for my local synagogue, teach gym for a local Jewish high school, and coach my little brother's basketball team.  I would say that I know a little bit about computers, but as my friend Yoni Gabel likes to tell me, I am a little bit TC, technologically challenged.  I do not even own my own computer, I usually just borrow my brother's laptop. Despite the fact I do not even own my own computer, I realize with each passing day how I am becoming more and more dependent on computers to function in my everyday life.