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.