Week 13

Music & Digital Media (Group 10):

I think music sharing is at the point where it will probably always happen especially as the younger generation grows up, who is used to music being ‘free’ in some sense or another. I think the new best strategies would be to take advantage of the new situation and find creative ways to make a profit.  Finding ways to serve the new market that is emerging will also help to provide a profit to the musicians.

IT & War (Group 9): 

In general, describe the relationship between I.T. and war as it has existed throughout history and into the present.

In the past, I think war has been a huge driver in technological advance.  Every country wanted to have the most advanced technology because it creates a huge advantage during wartime.  Advancement is technology have changed the way wars are fought.  Currently, I believe an increasing number of technological advances are coming from companies created for consumers rather than war. 

3 quotes and short response stating conclusion addressing the relationship between I.T. and war:

Supports:

“Technology shapes warfare, not war. War is timeless and universal... Warfare is the conduct of war.”

“Technology defines, governs, or circumscribes warfare. It sets the stage for warfare. It is the instrumentality of warfare.”

“The most important verb describing the impact of technology on warfare is that it changes warfare. Technology has been the primary source of military innovation throughout history. It drives changes in warfare more than any other factor. “

“However much technology may change warfare, it never determines warfare—neither how it will be conducted nor how it will turn out. Technology presides in warfare, but it does not rule.”

In conclusion, technology has changed the way war is fought.  It changes the weapons that are used, but people are still the ones who decide if and how we fight against one another.  Technology is an enabler, but it not by any means the cause of war. 

Week 12 Questions

Group 8: Virtual Reality 

"A Brief History of Virtual Reality and its Social Applications" 

My initial understanding of a virtual reality is a computer or technology-generated world, where a virtual life or interactions can be created. I rarely interact with virtual realities, if ever.

1) What is the different between virtual environments, artificial reality, and augmented reality?

2) In the article, it says that virtual reality is “an alternate world filled with computer generated images that respond to human movements”, so would the video game Wii be consider a virtual reality?  What qualifies as an alternate world?

3) Does a communication medium need to be present for the digital world to be classified as a virtual reality? Would internal communication within the game itself (so communication with fictitious characters of the game) count as the necessary interaction or communication component? 

Group 6: IT Privacy & Security

“The Transparency Grenade”

1) Why is it necessary for Corporate and Governmental transparency?  If this type of information is made publicly available how will this impact our national security and for businesses how will this affect how they maintain their competitive advantage?  Concerning businesses, why should they have to disclose their private information to the public is they not involved in the decision?

2) Is ‘network insecurity’ necessarily a bad thing just because it impacts our freedom of speech?  There are many things in the real world, not digital world, that also impact the extent to which we express our freedom of speech but I think this type of informal restriction provides many advantages as well.

3) What does it mean when the article states that it is a ‘one-off object’ and how will this original core concept still live on as an app for Android devices by ‘invisibly’ running as a background application?

“Device identification in online banking is privacy threat, expert says”

1) When did companies begin using the 41^st Parameter technology? Has this new technology been useful in preventing fraud?

2) Are there any laws specifying exactly what the companies can and can not do with this data?  Do consumers have the option to opt out of this data collection during log in?

3) If this information is not personally identifiable when it is sold to advertisers how do they use it to market to specific individuals? 

Week 11 Questions

Richard Stallman on Free Software –youtube video

1) Stallman discuses how if users do not have control over the software they use this creates an imbalance of power, but if user’s have control over ever software program they use how what would the effect on the overall Internet be?  Wouldn’t this create a whole different type of imbalance of power, being the computer savvy people would have the knowledge to change these program and the people with limited computer skills would be put a disadvantage instead?

2) If developers could no longer restrict the use of the software they created through copyright law, would this slow innovation because people would have less incentive to create new software because they can’t protect it from others infringing on their ideas?

3) What are some current examples of programs that use ‘copyleft’ and have they been successful? If copyright laws did not protect educational material, how would the author and publisher make money on their work?  Wouldn’t this put authors, innovators, and creators at a disadvantage? 

What is Open Source? – Computer Floss

1) Even if all software was made to be open source and all the source code was available, wouldn’t only a small number of the population be able to understand the source code to make changes or fix problems?

2) Since companies currently consider source code to be a trade secret, what would be the effect on their competitive advantage if all this information were made public?

3) What was the effect of the GNU project to develop free software?  Was it successful, why or why not?

4) Is there a program to convert the machine code back to source code? A program that undoes what the ‘compiler’ did, which was discussed in the video. 

"Open Source vs Proprietary Software"

1) How is proprietary software designed to meet the needs of the user more than Open Source?  What are the advantages that come from the fact that Open Source does not have censorship and monitoring? 

2) The article states that open source is great for ‘DIY project’, what is a DIY project? 

3) One of the arguments against Open Source is that the quality is questionable and I think this relates to the other argument that there is no responsibility.  Is there a way to add accountability to increase quality, without connecting it to a single company? 

“Life on the Electric Frontier: An Interview with Howard Rheingold”  

1) Are there more dangers now in making the transition from an online to a face-to-face community? How can these dangers we prevented or overcome in our current society?

2) When The Well became part of the Internet and ‘went global’, do you think the types of relationships and communities formed using this platform changed?

3) What do you believe is the best way to overcome the isolation that technology has the potential to create?  Do you believe it depends on the individuals to use this advancing technology as a tool for increased personal community or further isolation?

“Howard Rheingold’s Virtual Community”

1) When discussing Japan, and why the Net does not automatically result in Internet, the article states that “people are waiting until the Net has acquired a more visual character…”  What does the author mean by a ‘visual character’?  And how can this be accomplished?

  

2) In relation to relationships and forming communities, what are your expectations for the Internet in the future?  What are your predictions about how it will progress?

3) Do you believe there is a solution for ‘disinformocracy’? Why do you believe this is such a big problem?