Biniam Gared

11/1/10

Facebook Developers Sold User IDs to Data Brokers 1. Companies have been buying User ID's from Facebook Developers, which has made them a great nuisance to the users. Those companies have been using these UIDs to spam people and focus their advertising to those people. Facebook has suspended those developers who have been selling the User ID's. 2. The Stakeholders are the Companies, Facebook, and the people who use Facebook. 3. The Social and Ethical issue which is related to this article would be privacy

10/28/10

Xtranormal Allows people to work on videos online and collaborate with others on these videos. This relates to Web 2.0 because it involves the collaboration of people, allowing them to work with each other to create a video which suits both of their visions

1. The newly hired BMW U.S. autoworkers have a salary of about $15 an hour. In Germany those same workers are making $30 an hour.

2. I am really not that surprised about the difference in salaries between the German workers and the American workers. Their is a reason why they are considered to have a good economy. They are smart in their decisions, like offshoring to a country which has so many people who are desperate for a job.

3. I think that Japan might be one of the few countries that would actually offshore. I chose Japan because to offshore to the U.S. you need to have a strong economy, which they have. Also they have many companies that originate from that area, which could offshore their factories to a country that has both the skilled people to work their and the land to build them.

10/20/10

1. The fact that careers are all but selected for students in India and China also allows them to focus more in particular fields, providing them the opportunity to take classes in that field before they are even out of high school. This drastically contrasts with American high school students who usually do not even think about their careers until they are preparing to apply to colleges and may even change their intended careers halfway through college. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Why?

The process in which the students in India and China know their future profession and take the classes to get in that profesion is a good thing in their society. In those countries the children are all brought up to get a job involving math and science so they can compete with people of other countries, like the United States. Considering that both of these countries are Developing Countries, they have a low GDP and a bad economy. Compared to people in the United States, they are less able to get a job in their country which would result in a large salary, they have to go to another country and get a job. In the United States we have the oppotunity to choose from a multitude of jobs, which are able to give us a salary large enough to live well off of. The process used in the United States, India, and China is working well there and will continue to work well. If India and China become a Developed Country they are one step closer to changing to the American system.

2. I think the students chosen to represent Americans were a pretty good depiction of some of the top students we have here. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

I believe that the movie was not a good depiction of the top students that we have here. The people who are considered as the "top students" have a GPA of about 4 since their sophmore year. The top students in the movie had a GPA of about 3.94, which is after their senior year, which should also include all their AP classes. The "top students" will probably graduate higschool with a GPA of about 4.3, which is way higher then the kids in the movie.

3. The purpose of viewing the video was to demonstrate a flat world - made flat by competing economies in China and India. And that happened because of the dot.com bubble which laid down the fiber optic cables connecting our country with theirs via the Internet. Now that you've finished viewing the video, what are some of your thoughts? Was it worthwhile to have viewed this video? Has it made you appreciate what you have? How can we say the world is flat and global all at the same time? Don't those images cancel each other out? Explain.

I believe that this was a really good and informative movie. It helped me understand that people getting into the field of computer science or any other science are not only competing against their own countrymen but are also competing against people of other nations.

10/12/10

• Technology in the Classroom
• The top 3 things that are most remarkable in my mind is:

1. The average for students per computer is 24:1 - This is amazing becauase living in Arlington I have always been fortunate to have a computer and have been able to use it when I wanted to. This relates to Equality of Access because this shows that not everybody is able to use a computer when they want to or even need to. 2. 64 % of U.S. schools have internet access - This is amazing on how a third of school are able to function without the use of internet. Our school runs on the internet and couldn't run as well without it. Theis also relates to the Social and Ethical issue of Equality of Access because some schools are not able to use the internet. 3. The percentage of students who said they never used a computer for school work - This is amazing on how kids are able to do their school work without the use of a computer. I wonder if teachers accept hand written papers or if the kids use devices like typewritters to write essays or other papers. This relates to Equality of Access and Policies and Standards because not all kids are able to use computers for school and the teachers standards are lowered for writting papers. 4. For these issues the school can ask the county or state for grants so they can improve the schools and libraries by filling them up with computers, which the students can use for academics. These schools will probably get the money because many people feel strongly on education.

1. Choose one of the issues, and describe in 2-3 sentences what you would do to solve the problem
2. Choose one of the "downsides of technology" and discuss in 3-4 sentences why it's a big problem. Discuss the origin of the problem, and a possible solution.

10/05/10

• Apple removes previously approved BitTorrent app from App Store
• Apple accidentally approved for a BitTorrent application to be put into the Appstore, which is then able to be put on the Apple itouch, iphone and ipad. This app allowed for the user to not only manage BitTorrent downloads it also offered free image and video uploading and sharing. The Apple has taken down this app, but what was interesting was that the app was able to go through the App Store's strict approval process.
• Problem: This issue relates to the problem of security and intellectual property because Apple's security team has finally taken down the app because it was not allowed to be in the Appstore (security) and this has stopped the ability of people to file share(intellectual property).
• This issue affects Business & Employment and Arts. Entertainment, & Leisure because the app allowed people to file share, affecting the business of the original maker of this file, and people were allowed to get free music and other devices, giving them free Entertainment.
• My opinion on this issue was that it is crazy for Apple to not notice this type of App but I feel that it was OK considering that they found out early about it.

9/29/10

• Hyperbolic Mapping
• The internet is filled with many problems and one that would be considered a great nuisance is the black holes. Black holes are places where data can't get in or out causing an internet outage, which happens 2 million times every day. New research has shown that hyperbolic mapping could stress routers less and reduce the number of black holes that occur. The stakeholders are the people who use the internet because this action of hyperbolic mapping could affect their use of the internet.
• Problem:This issue relates to the problem of reliability because the internet contains many bugs and "black holes", which affect its use and negatively affects its reliabilty to its providers.
• This issue affects all Areas of Impact because without the reliable use of the internet their is no way to do any of the Areas of Impact.
• My opinion on this issue is that I am all for the hyperbolic mapping because of its positive affects to the internet reducing its outages.

9/21/10

• Activision: Violent games law chokes free speech
• In 2005, California passed a law that banned the sale of violent and inappropriate video games to minors and now the makers of those games have chosen to fight back because of that restriction on their given right of free speech. Activision has joined this group of video game designers giving their full support to the challenge of this law. They have decided to take this law up to the Supreme Court to deliberate on the issue. The stakeholders in this predicament are the video game designers of America.
• Problem: This issue relates to the problems of Equality of Access and Control because the video game designers want all their games, from Early Childhood to Adult Only, to equally be able to be purchased by the young to the old and they also want the ability to sell to whoever they want to.
• This article greatly relates to me because I love to play video games of different nature. I would love to be able to buy any game I want to and to not be discriminated in account on my age.
• Solution:I believe that the law on the issue of selling violent games to minors should change but should still should be there. The law should lower its requirement for elegibility for purchasing games.

9/17/10

• Google has redesigned Google Health
• Google has redesigned Google Health making it more user friendly; they also made the application make the user focus more on wellness and fitness. This article relates to the subject of people and machines because Google Health (the machine) has been made easier to use (for people). This also relates to Privacy because it comes with a feature that lets people write down their prescriptions and their health while keeping their information only known to themselves.