Write a blog entry discussing something you've learned in this class about computers and information technology and how it relates to your life. It might be something interesting or scary that you didn't know existed before, an interest you have cultivated, or a greater awareness of all of the places where computers touch your life.

I'm not looking for a "this class opened my eyes!thankyouthankyou!" sort of thing, but for you to think about where you were at the beginning of the semester and where you are now, and how your awareness of or attitude towards some aspect of information technology might've changed.


This class has given me a better understanding of how computers and the internet work. The networking labs helped me understand the way information travels to and from computer to computer. Programming in Python has demystified the way programs run. Before I never really thought about things, it was always clicking a button and watching magic happen. Now, I know how commands and programs work. Also, working with Dreamweaver has explained a lot to me. Putting a page together step by step has given me a new perspective when I look at thing online now. Before, fooling around with font and colors and background pictures on myspace xanga or face book was all the html I knew. Then I learned that what I was really doing was both html and CSS, I never knew there was a difference. When we talked about Web 2.0 it gave a name to all the popular sites I’ve been hearing about. I never really though that site like face book or myspace were that different from normal sites.
One big thing I’ve gained a better understanding about in this class is the RFID. I never really thought about what made all these devices in everyday life function. I’ve been to Hong Kong once a year for every year since I’ve been a child, and when I returned one summer, I noticed that EVERYONE had something called an Octopus card. Within a few months of circulation it became such a large part of everyone’s life. When I was there I also used it, and yes, it was very convenient, I could scan in and out of MTR stations, busses, etc. I didn’t think that there could be a small transponder inside a plastic card. The mystery of how anti-theft clothing tags and auto tolling booths is now gone.
Although I don’t want to say this class open my eyes, in a way it did. I really do look at many things differently now. I’m not claiming to be an expert, but now I have more of an idea about how the internet works. DNS, HTTP, CSS, HTML, all of those terms meant nothing to me before, now I know what they stand for and their purposes. Net Neutrality is another huge issue I probably wouldn’t even have paid attention to if it weren’t for this class. The sad thing is that this issue affects me a lot. The even sadder thing is that this issue affects many people, but it’s not well common knowledge yet.
One little story I’d like to mention is that I actually got into a discussion with my friends father about computers. We talked about how computers used to required MANY light bulb like devices to function, and I actually kind of knew what he was talking about. I didn’t really know that computers used to be used only for scientific purposes. The first computers I remember seeing as a child were huge, but still able to fit on a desktop, they were in black with green text and they had huge black floppy disks and my parents used them for work. Then I remembered seeing the apple computers with small square, black and white screens. I never knew that a computer the size of a few rooms put together existed.
The sound lab also helped me see sound differently. Since I’ve work with photography for a long time I knew about pixels, RGB etc etc, but when we deconstructed the sound wave I learn a lot. Samples and rates, and fidelity, they all do relate to pictures and now I understand sound more.

I believe that both Joy and Kurzweil have relevant concerns and hopes concerning our future and technology. Like before, I believe that these men are much to extreme in their predictions. Yes, microscopic technology capable of completing nigh impossible medical procedures would be a wonderful thing to have in the future, but it might not be as close as Kurzweil predicts it will be. And while we may not be living in a scifi-filmesque world soon, this may not mean that technology is going to kill us either. The fact that Joy pulls in the Borg from Star-Trek also makes me question his believes. Since the beginning of humankind’s obsession with technology, there have been polar opposites in beliefs. In class we discussed how people thought that television could dramatically help people by educating them or delivering information instantly, others thought it would make everyone zombies who just sat in front of the box for hours. As it turns out, it’s been a little of both, except nothing as dramatic. Yes, there are benefits, and yes there are downfalls, but either way, it has been incorporated into our culture pretty smoothly. It’s just something that’s become apart of us, and while some people focus on it more than others, it hasn’t really harmed or bettered our society. And honestly, I believe the same is going to happen with our future. Look how fast the internet has assimilated into our lives. It’s not killing us or helping us all that much, there aren’t that many extreme jumps in technology that has entered our lives. I believe that Moore’s law is quite plausible, but it reflects the human race’s obsession with money. As far as technology has advanced, people have focused their efforts to provide more products for consumers. Even medical corporations are now focusing on create new forms of treatment, but not cures. A company can make much more money providing pills to keep people alive, but a pill that can cure will not make much money. This may be the same with futurism. Technology will advance greatly, but we’re going to be kept in a middle ground because companies will never allow the public to have the most advanced appliances, we’ll always be kept wanting the next best thing, and because of this, our lives are going to continue the way it has been for forever. I truly believe that the future will remain more or less the same, our possessions will just be more advanced. Life will go on. And I really don’t believe that we’ll ever get to cheat death, and even if we did, I’m sure enough political problems will arise, and human rights activists and religious zealots will have it shut down one way or another.

I think that while the Turing test is good for testing whether computer programs are humanlike, but it might not be the best for testing intelligence. Because intelligence is so subjective, it is hard to accurately test whether something or someone is intelligence merely by asking them typed questions. For example, a simple calculator can solve mathematical problems, but a person sitting at their computer may not. Also, because people are so different, it is hard to judge whether they are intelligent from typing questions to them. The adult phone sex programs can memorize names, ages and such, and they can fire back provocative answers and pass as a shallow human, but I don’t think this makes them intelligent. Even people sometimes forget names and ages, and some people may not even be capable of talking dirty back, so the Turing test might not be able to fully test something or someone for intelligence. In class we mentioned that there was a program that mimicked a paranoid person, and while the program can produce responses that fit its character, to some people it would be obvious that it was a program, while to others it wouldn’t. Because both intelligence and the Turing test are subjective it is hard to say whether the test itself is really a good test. A person unfamiliar with technology is much more likely to be fooled by a chatbot than a computer scientist would be. The bots in games like Counterstrike are also more likely to be spotted by an intense gamer than a mom who has never played before. Bots may be able to spout off different insults, but actual humans often come up with strange insults that don’t actually include obscenity or profanity. Even simple automated responses programmed for business hotlines may fool people who don’t have experience with them. For example, if a grandma who has never even heard of automated responses called Visa today, she would be greeted by a human voice, then prompted to say yes or no in response to the human voice asking which category her problem fell under. The voice recognition technology might be able to convince her that she was talking to a human, but to most people today, it might not be able to. This applies to programs tested with the Testing test. No matter how advanced computer programs become, there will always be a handful of people educated in that field who can recognize the programs using the Turing Test, and there will always be people who can be fooled. Because the results from the Turing test vary from person to person, and program to program, I think the Turing test is not good test of intelligence, but it is not the worst either.

Personally I believe that internet addiction is a major problem with people today. The internet, compared with other dangerous vices, seems like a minor problem. A parent is less inclined to worry or confront their children about the use of the internet than if their children had narcotic problems.

Personally, I started using the internet when I was very young. Because of this, I began to spend all my time in my computer room. From the time I got home from school to the time I went to bed I was on the computer. I wouldn’t spend time with my parents even they came home from working overseas (which they did for most of the year). I didn’t play with my little brother at all. After a while, I somehow stopped going on the computer because I realized it I was spending up to 8 hours a day on it. I might have been able to stop it cold turkey but I know of many people who couldn’t.

My cousin, who is two years younger than me, is a bright young man. When Counterstrike became popular a few years ago, he completely lost touch with the world, he spent all his time in his room on his computer. His grades became so bad, the only way his mother could threaten him at all was to take away his computer. He managed to find the computer she had hidden in the garage. His internet addiction got so bad, my aunty no longer subscribes to cable or the internet. The internet has consumed his life, and he’s nearly failing out of all his classes. I think he may be getting better now, but he still spends all of his free time in internet cafes.

I think that internet porn addiction is also a HUGE problem. Because internet porn is so easily accessible, many young teens are able to find it. Personally I know that internet porn addiction can cause problems in relationships. My friend’s boyfriends would lie about it, and try to hide it. Curious teens can form self destructive habits, a lifetime movie about a boy addicted to internet porn was even made a few years ago.” Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life" starring Jeremy Sumpter, shows how much porn addiction can affect someone’s life.

Antisocial behavior, Effect on personal, professional or social life, Obsessive, compulsive or self-destructive behavior, Denial, lying or deception about usage, are all symptoms I’m seen concerning people and the internet. Internet addiction may seem silly, but it affects many people, and it’s scary because most people don’t even seen it as an addiction or serious problem.

- Downloading a song you don't own from a major label artist.
- Downloading a song you don't own from a struggling independent artist.
I think downloading a song is either acceptable or not, regardless of whether the artist is from a major label or if the artist is a struggling independent one. While many people today like to bash major mainstream artists, they forget that at one time they were also struggling and independent. Why should people hate on artists who have spent their lives working hard to rise about? It’s not fair to say that its better to download from a major artist than from an indie artist because even though they can afford to have people download their music for free they still worked very hard to become who they are today. Although I personally believe that downloading music isn’t too wrong, I have also never been an artist who’s lost money from downloading. I think downloading is bad but I still do it because it’s very easy and free. I don’t think it’s any different to download from a major or independent artist. Also independent artists can benefit from downloading because it’s like free advertising.

- Downloading another copy of a song you already own.
I think it is pretty acceptable to download another copy of a song you own because today technology is changing and evolving really fast and it’s not fair to pay an artist many times over for one song that you’ve wanted. They produced one song, and we should be able to personally have and listen to that song no matter how much technology changes. Also, sometimes the quality of disks tapes cassettes etc can degenerate and we should not have to pay 20 dollars again for another hunk of plastic that might break again. I like to copy music to my computer after I buy the cd, I’m not trying to share it etc, it’s just so I can have it with me and I can put it into a play list etc. I’m not trying to cheat the artist so I believe it’s acceptable for me to download another copy. Also, if I’m not at home and I’ve forgotten my cd, I should be able to listen to it.

- Shoplifting a CD from a store.
I think it’s wrong to shoplift a CD from a store. First off, many people suffer from shoplifting. People who work at the store, the store, etc, people lose money from people stealing. Also, a CD is a tangible object. It’s just like an orange from a grocery store or a book from a book store, it’s wrong to steal from a store where people are supposed to pay money in exchange for goods.

- Downloading a song to "try it out" - if you like it enough, you'll buy the CD.
This is perfectly fine, it’s just like the music clips on itunes and amazon.com that lets you sample before you buy, only if you download a song you hear the whole thing and not just one part of it that may nor may not correctly represent the entire song. How can an artist bitch about this scenario if you end of buying their damned CD?

- Copying a CD from a friend.
I think copying a CD from a friend is less acceptable but still ok-ish. For example, if I buy a copy of a CD for my girlfriend, I shouldn’t have to buy another copy just for myself. I’m almost always with her and it’s not fair if I have to pay double the price just to have a copy with me just in case I want to listen to it when I’m alone.

- Making your music available online to share with a couple of friends.
I think it’s ok to share music with your friends, because it’s not like you’re supplying the nation with free music. Sharing music with friends like almost like you’re sharing expressions with people close to you. For example I always tell friends about new songs I like and vice versa, if they’re going to go sample or download it anyways I might as well make my music available to them online.

- Making your music publically available on the Internet, such as through KazAa or Limewire.
I have very undecided feelings about publicly sharing music on the internet. It seems wrong to give many people free music, but at the same time I download music so it’s hard to judge the people who supply me. I think artists themselves should make their music downloadable for a certain, reasonable price. Of course the music files should be cheaper than CD’s seeing as they are not on a solid, tangible object, and it would cost must less to have downloadable music than to produce CD’s.

MASHUPS!


http://map.pequenopolis.com/

This site shows you where you end up if you dig a hole through the earth...it's usually not china. I just thought this was cute and interesting. It uses google maps.


http://www.hnlhousing.com/

This site shows housing from craigslist in honolulu. I didn't know that there were site that would cover property in Hawaii, but there are. The ability for the google maps software that allows people to zoom in on the island reminds me of home.

http://www.gophernow.com/

This site also uses google maps. Gophernow shows you the restaurants closests to a zip code you enter and it also shows whether the restaurant is open, when it closes and whether or not they have delivery or pickup available. I love food, so that's pretty much why I chose this site.

The fundamental issue underlying the net neutrality debate revolves around the fact that if net neutrality is taken away or altered, large companies will be given the power to control the internet based on the price they’re willing to pay. Net neutrality prohibits discrimination against smaller websites or organizations.
Google and Ebay are two major companies against net neutrality. Since both Google and Ebay started out as small companies, they understand how net neutrality can affect individual companies. The possible blocking or “degrading” of certain websites would completely change the way the internet works now. “"The telephone and cable companies in control of Internet access are trying to use their enormous political muscle to dramatically change the Internet," Whitman wrote. "It might be hard to believe, but lawmakers in Washington are seriously debating whether consumers should be free to use the Internet as they want in the future." Says Whitman of Ebay.
AT&T and Verizon both support Net Neutrality. What you pay for is what you get pretty much sums up the attitude these companies have on Net Neutrality. They believe that customers should be able to receive videos and content faster if they wish to pay for it.
Truthfully, I’ve read most of the anti-net neutrality arguments and it seems like they don’t have any real reasons or defense. Although the companies are sugar coating their words, they still sound like they want net neutrality to go away because they want the opportunity to reel in more customers. The pro-net neutrality organizations make many more solid points. Companies could put smaller site in “the slow lane” or make their search results turn up further down on a list. Businesses could slow down the traffic on certain sites to “herd” customers to their own services. With net neutrality, the choice and freedom is in the hands of the people using the internet, without net neutrality, it is the companies who are given the power to jerk people around until everyone is going exactly where they want to. I am 100% pro net neutrality.