Digital Divide Writing Assignment

Digital Divide can be a potential problem in the following areas; education, health, government , entertainment and work. I will describe some of these problems. As far as education goes, technology is improving and more schools are becoming more involved with the computer world. This seems like a good idea, but one thing that needs to be considered, is aside from managing the budget for the new computers, training for teachers or anyone that will be using these computers needs to be considered in with the budget so they can be trained to integrate technology. Aside from that, problems that can arise are a dependence on the computer when dealing with writing. I know for myself, I have become dependent on word's spell check, where if I spell something wrong I don't even attempt to fix it, but rather right click and let spell check show me the right way to spell it. I also feel that when students are always on the computer, interaction with others is down and being social and interacting is crucial towards growing up, because in the work life,  you always have to deal with other people and so education is a good time to work on communication skills, and those are at a minimum when always on the computer. Problems also arise when dealing with the government and health as well. Although their are a lot of things you can now do online, like file for unemployment or taxes, take driving lessons, process health forms, not everyone has access to computers, let alone to get on the internet, so this can be a major problem for those unaccessible to the web. For entertainment, what happened to the times where we used to watch shows on television? Now, everything is online, which is convenient for some, but again not everyone as a computer with internet access. Television is loosing its overall views as people don't even rush home to watch their favorite shows as they can just catch it online later. Lastly, in the work field, a lot of problems arise. For one thing, stores could potentially loose business as now everything is being put online. I work for a clothing company, Abercrombie and Fitch, that has opened four other stores, Abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., Ruehl No. 924, and Gilly Hicks. Ruehl opened a few years ago and they held the clothes off the internet for about 2 years to get buyers to come to the store and see the atmosphere. At first this made me upset because I wanted to see the clothes when the store opened and their were only 13 stores in the country, none of which were close to my home, however when I came out to San Francisco and went to the store out here, it was way more exciting to go into this new store and not have any idea of what the clothes or store was going to be like. Now that more stores have opened, they have put clothes online for buyers to view and purchase on the web. Another problem in the work area is that adults, in the older generations are down right computer illiterate. My generation is not because we have grown up with it, so it is simple and easy to us, but for our parents generation, it is all new. It is sort of like learning a new language, the younger you are the easier it is to comprehend and understand. Technology will continue to increase and hopefully it will be useful for our society. 

Week Eight Writing Assignment

I will admit, I have illegally downloaded a large amount of music. It all started around middle school when Napster was popular. My brother and I would download music on our families computer and we were not aware that it was even a bad thing. After Napster was shut down, new illegal downloading programs became available, such as Kazaa, Bearshare and Limewire. The premises from A Better Way Forward article states, "Killing Napster only spawned more decentralized networks. Most evidence suggest that file sharing is at least as popular today as it was before the lawsuits began." 

My personal ethics regarding file sharing is that it is so normal and common to me, I feel it is okay. I do however understand that file sharing is wrong and is taking away profit from artists who work hard at their job and could potentially be loosing money. But the way I see it, in order to get music around, just like the news or any means of communication, the music has to be bounced around and shared through people. I myself love when friends introduce me to new music, especially since they know what kind of person I am so they know what genre and styles of music I will be interested in.  People are lazy in society and do not always go out looking for new bands and music to listen to, but rather wait and get introduced to it by someone else. Although sharing music with friends can help promote the bands and lead to branching the music off to more people, it "robs the people who created the music of compensation" - stated in the RIAA article. It sort of has a domino affect, as when the record companies are deprived, employees loose their jobs, artists get taken off rosters, and fewer bands are able to be signed. In the long run this is not going to help the music industry. 

In comparing shoplifting a CD from a store and downloading free music on the internet, I feel the two differ on many accounts. As the RIAA article states, "When you go online and download songs without permission, you are stealing. 

The illegal downloading o music if just as wrong as shoplifting from a local convenience store - and the impact on those who create music and bring it to fans is equally devastating."  First of all, it is not our fault that someone made these illegal downloading programs available to anyone who wants it, and it is hard to resist the temptation when frankly it is basically like people standing outside of these music stores and handing it to us, free of charge. I do not see it on the same terms as walking into a music store and physically stealing the CD, however I am aware that it is wrong, but not enough people are aware of this so they do it anyway. 

Whether or not the artist is popular or struggling, I feel that downloading their music and sharing it with others is making the artist or band bigger. However after reading the article on RIAA I did not realize that more than just the artist's are affected by this. Sound engineers and technicians to warehouse workers and record store clerks are all affected as well. Piracy deprives the music industry of the resources that help develop new talent. 

I recently began to DJ at our schools radio station and I have been playing local bands from my home town, along with local bands around this area to promote their music and make them more popular. I tend to mention their my-space URL so that people can check them out and see what they sound like, in hopes of then buying their CD at a store or on Itunes. 

For people who wish to buy CD's and would like to try it out, their are many websites that allow sampling of music, without illegal download. Take for example my-space, which actually lets you listen to entire songs that have been accessible legally by the artist themselves, or someone who works for the artist. Some are even downloadable. I think that when people say they are going to test out a song, it will lead to "testing" out more and more songs, unable to resist the temptations into downloading all free music. But is it the individuals who are downloading this free music to blame? I feel that although it is wrong, it's not like these people were the ones who created these programs, and for that matter they would never be tempted to get this music for free because it would not be accessible. 

I am not going to lie and say I will never download music illegally again, but after reading these articles, I now am aware of how many people this is hurting. I am interested working in the music industry myself, so I feel that I am just harming my own future by downloading free music. I hope that someday, all illegal downloading of music will be shut down so I will no longer be tempted to download. 

Week Seven Writing Assignment

Over the years the media has changed dramatically and one way of looking at it is its change from analog to digital. Nowadays, it is very easy to produce music, movies, and artwork from home rather than from renting out a studio or buying expensive programs. In remembering in class, you told a story about your file sharing in high school, recording friends music off of cassette tapes. Relating to now, the same concept works, however it is way easier and faster. Instead of manually copying it, as all we need to do is connect online and send through computers. This modern way of file sharing has a lot of pros; easier, faster, and without the purchases of CD's or tapes people are saving money. 

One thing that came to mind when thinking about movies and how they have changed through digital processing is that the quality has gotten a lot better. Aside from having a plasma TV, one can receive great quality from specific DVD's themselves from just being modern and great quality. Recently I watched 101 Dalmatians, which is animated, however compared to something like Lilo & Stitch, the animation quality is a lot different. I almost would like to say that I like the quality in 101 Dalmatians better, as it looks more drawn rather than just full out animated from a computer. With sound, I feel it is hard for us to distinguish sound now from sound a few decades back as more people are buying televisions with surround sound or just high quality speakers which makes the sound more realistic. I'm sure if someone who hadn't watched a film for 30 years would be amazed at the difference in sound, but since we have gradually been listening as it has changed, it is hard to notice. 

In thinking about the music I have, I think about what my life was like before I got Itunes. I had a lot of CD's that took up a lot of space. Once getting Itunes, I burned all of my CD's onto my computer so it would be quicker and faster to find certain songs. I enjoy having all of my music in front of me on one page however I do believe there is a downside to this. Before I had itunes I would listen to certain CD's in my room or in my car. I can remember the first time I came to california in the rental car all we listened to was my Yellowcard CD, so now whenever I listen to that CD it reminds me of that time when I came here. When listening to CD's even after I had itunes, I would make mixes then listen to them through a CD player or a car and still be aware of exactly what song would play next. When I first started listening to my iPod I would play it on shuffle and having so many songs it would get annoying because before I would only listen to a specific genre or album at the same time. Considering I have over 3000 songs it is rare that a song of the same artist or album would play in a row. One thing I have discovered that can solve my problem is that on itunes we can make playlists so what I do is make playlists then when I'm driving or just listening to music I will put on a specific playlist depending on my mood. I enjoy having all my music together on this library however I realize that I do not give each song its equal respect. Their is even a portion of songs I have never played all the way through - or even played at all. 

I feel I have a strong relationship with media. I enjoy playing on Garage band - a program on macs where you can create your own songs with a variety of beats to choose from, which also lets you import sections from your itunes library too. This application is fun to play around with and lets me understand how music is made in the studios. I appreciate the technology we have today and feel it is good for our society. 

Week Six Writing Assignment

The unintended consequence of the development of ubiquitous technology has been the environmental impact of cell phones, iPods, printers, monitors, computers, calculators etc. that we discard throughout the years. Modern electronics have such a short shelf life, and with new technology developing, more people are upgrading and discarding old electronics. Although their has been a rapid improvement technology over the years, the downside results in the rapid proliferation of electronic waste.

   Inside these electronics are a wide variety of materials that contain some reusable components like transistors and integrated circuits, but also toxic materials such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and fire-retardant insulation, along with cancer-causing PCBs. The problem is that most of the electronic waste cannot be economically recycled in the first world. The waste is stripped for salvageable components, and the remaining components are shipped to Nigeria, India, and China for inexpensive, labor intensive recycling and disposal. In regards to the environmental issues, the materials such as lead and mercury can leach into the ground water, and the burning components can give off toxic fumes. The exposure to heavy metals are cancer causing and also result in birth defects.

Although there is a large worldwide industry for scrap equipment, it is not well-regulated or located in one specific place. The equipment ends up getting shipped to an overseas recycler where is has already been stripped of all its value, and the obsolete equipment ends up as toxic waste, with hazardous components exposed, burned or allowed to degrade in landfills. The laws of the United States do not connect with those of other countries which is why different corporations can get away with what they are doing without consequences. It is difficult to control the entire world so enforcing international policies on countries is made difficult.    

There are many things that can be done about this problem. Right now the Basel convention governs the shipment of hazardous waste to the developing world and the state of California controls the Electronic Waste Recycling Act. Individually, we can cut down the purchase of electronics, and when one is selecting new electronics, it would be wise to chose one that can be upgraded or are modular, also to consider selecting manufacturers who follow the green standards. When a computer breaks, it is a good idea to make sure it is really broken before purchasing a new one because there are many companies that can repair computers or upgrade them for you. If one is purely just sick of the computer they could donate it to a place like the goodwill or even give it to a relative or friend.

Week Five Writing Assignment

1. Converting from base 2 to base 10

1. 1011, 1+2+8 = 11

2. 101010, 2+8+32 = 42

3. 11111, 1+2+4+8+16 = 31

4.10010, 2+16

2. Converting from base 10 to base 2

1. 31, (31-16=15-8=7-4=3-2=1-1=0) = 11111  

2. 51, (51-32=19-16=3-2=1-1=0) = 110011

3. 7,  ( 7-4=3-2=1-1=0 = 111

4. 103, (103-64=39-32=7-4=3-2=1-1=0) 1100111

3. 

A. modem downloading @ 56 kilobits/sec  

(100MB/1)*(1,048,576B/1MB)=104,857,600Bytes

*(8bits/1bytes)=838,860,800bits*(1kilobit/1000bits)=838860.8kilobits*(1sec/56kilobits)=

ANSWER: 14979.657seconds 

B. DSL downloading @ 5megabits/sec 838,860,800bits*(1megabit/1,000,000bits)=838.8608megabits*(1sec/5mega)=ANSWER:167seconds

C.Highspeed downloading @ 10megabits/sec

838,860,800bits*(1megabit/1,000,000bits)=838.8608megabits*(1sec/10mega)=ANSWER:83seconds

4. 60megabytes*(8megabits/1megabytes)=480megabits(MP3)*(1sec/3mb)=160=2.667min

60/2.667=ANSWER: 22.5/hour

Week Four Writing Assignment

1. The fundamental issue underlying the net neutrality debate regards how far an internet service provider may go, as there is a lack of legislature preventing ISPs from restricting accessible content as well as the pricing of internet, more specifically high speed internet. This is an issue that could have a wide-ranging impact on our ability to use the internet, going against our constitutional right of freedom of speech.

2. Websites like Google, Yahoo! along with many democrats, are in favor of net neutrality as they assume that the the internet is working well as it is now, and there is protection of small sites and consumer protection. These are the companies that profit from the fact that any user can currently find almost anything through their service. The democrats believe that the people know what is best for themselves, and refuse to allow a dictatorship over their internet. The issue also exists over the high price of an internet speed that most of us take for granted. The cost of high speed cable internet approaches sixty dollars per month and many households are struggling to put food on the table let alone afford an appropriately fast internet service. Computers have become more and more affordable but the internet available for ten dollars a month is not agreeable with today's complex websites and thirst to upload large files like pictures and videos. It is a limit of self expression determined by social class. Libraries simply need more computers for free internet for those who cannot afford the monthly fee. Lastly, although technically against the law, download of copyrighted material could very well be a victim of net neutrality. Those who are for net neutrality believe that they can determine what is right an wrong.

3. Libertarian groups and pro-free market groups are opposed to net neutrality. They believe they know what is best for the people. Arguments against this are the needless regulation of the market and the stifling of innovation and investment. 

4. I promote net neutrality, as I feel it is important for our society to have unlimited access to whatever information they want. The world would operate very differently if we had limited access, as communication would be restricted and it would be difficult to do research. Our society's access to the internet should remain versatile so everyone can have equal rights. If I wanted a restricted internet I would move to the People's Republic of China. 

Week Three Writing Assignment

Wikipedia defines cybersquatting as registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. This is said to be an issue that keeps coming up regarding host-names. My opinion about cybersquatting is that the attempt to diminish ones company towards convincing the intended consumers to look at a false website should be illegal, because it is wrong, and in most cases, this is what happens, where someone will register a name that is very similar to a known site so they can "steal traffic" and consumers will be tricked into visiting these false sites.I feel that the "coincidences" where people have come up with names that are similarly close to these well known sites has evolved into what is considered cybersquatting, which is wrong. The First Amendment to the US constitution is supposed to guarantee that government cannot interfere with any citizen's right to speak or to publish his/her opinions. This can relate to another type of cybersquatting we learned, where people will register a domain in order to make a political point. I feel this is completely opposite from the type I have previously discussed. We have rights to our own opinion, and people in our society should have rights to publish these opinions on the web. I believe that it is okay for political or non-profit speech, but not to make money. I do feel that the government needs to be more strict regarding this issue as I have come up with a set of guidelines  for handling this problem. The first thing is that the website that allows one to make a host-name has to be way more strict, perhaps not even exist online, but rather at specific locations and those individuals who wish to create a site have to physically go to one of these locations and register in person. This process could be  like getting your license, except instead of taking a test they have to show and explain what this website is and for and what it will consist of. I feel people will be less likely to slip through the cracks and create a false website if this process is done one on one in person. The next principle that should be thought over is creating some sort of detective device that can detect if a website is in fact cybersquatting and shut it down. I previously saw the movie "Untraceable" and the FBI was able to shut down certain websites if something was wrong with them. I'm not too sure what this is like in real life however if possible that should get put into play. In the first article, ICANN was mentioned, stating that they have sought to hire a Compliance Program Specialist, however the role has been unfilled for over a year. - These are the things that people need to put more effort into doing, so that this whole cybersquatting craziness could possibly come to an end.