The Final & Last Reading...& It's Number is 5 :)

The End of Privacy

The End of Privacy, written by Daniel J. Solove, is an article describing the advantages and disadvantages of our ever-changing, technologically advanced world. Many different elements are considered when discussing the subject of privacy. 

The 15 year-old “Star Wars Kid” experienced deleterious social and psychological effects after a video he made of himself was stolen and leaked out onto YouTube.  In 2007, Facebook members were outraged when their personal purchases were made public on their newsfeeds, for everyone to see.  Privacy loss is not within a person’s control anymore. Internet service providers collect information about the websites you surf, cable stations keep a tab on the shows your may be watching, and whenever a purchase is made online, your personal data becomes less and less secure. So what do we do?

As some legal scholars say there is no hope, nothing we can do.  However, in my opinion, privacy can be protected to an extent. High school, college students, and adults, could refrain from sharing so many personal details about themselves via their social networking sites. People should make a conscious effort to keep their firewalls and Internet security updated on their computers, and limit using credit cards over the Internet.

However, those suggestions cover the aspects of privacy under our control. It is unfortunate that for the rest of our lives, those of us a part of the “Google Age” will forever leave behind digitized trails of our pasts that can never be erased.  I particularly liked that Solove used John Dewey’s quote, "a person is not something complete, perfect, [or] finished," but is "something moving, changing, discrete, and above all initiating instead of final." The elders in my generation have for the most part been forgiven for their recklessness and bad decisions, because their misdeeds have long been forgotten or erased from the memories of others. In my generation, we will not be able to just transform our reputations with such ease. We will forever have digitally archived reminders of the past.

Scary.

Mobile Extra Credit

I am actually very impressed with the library mobile site. It is much better than I was expecting. I use a simple LG enV3 with 3G Internet, so the Internet looks much different on my phone as opposed to an Iphone or Blackberry.

I really like how the buttons are big and visible. One of the most interesting features is that the mobile website shows the availability of computers in the library as well as how many computers are being used. I look forward to seeing the mobile library catalog, but I am impressed with the regular version.

I think it is nice how the floor plans, news, catalog, articles, directions, computer availability, and help are the main buttons on the site. It makes navigation much easier because those are some of the most important searches.  The site also loaded surprisingly fast. It is a very useful tool.

News Report #5

“V” For Vendetta Hacker

Earlier this week, Washington State University experienced one of the oddest breaches in security ever. A hacker infiltrated the Washington State University academic media system. However, this hacker was not the ordinary virus. The culprit, who is now being coined “V” dressed up as a notorious character from the movie, V for Vendetta. V set up a video discussing trivial issues like the squirrels on campus. However, through anonymous email correspondence, V claims he used this diminutive issue to actually spark new ideas and interest. V quotes, "I was hoping that everyone would generate their own list of problems which they are passionate about." This video played every hour in various classrooms via projectors. V’s voice is disguised, and authorities are still searching for leads to his true identity. The hacker’s software was said to be very sophisticated and many IT officials had to go to extreme lengths to prevent the hack.

I think that this story is very relevant to our society, to our morals, values, and our culture. Especially, like myself, the college youth. Before I begin a long drawn out analysis of this event, I would like to first off give kudos to Washington State’s steadfast network security…HA! Ok, I love how this hacker chose to use the V for Vendetta theme (as well as attire) to make his point. V for Vendetta has a powerful message. However, the hacker used it in a sense that was almost trivial. He spoke about issues that were of really no serious concern or of debate among the student body. This was a great strategy, because it alleviated controversy, and it sparked the attention of the students, the hackers main target audience. It also relieved any reason for panic, but it did however have a very creepy quality.

This instance just goes to show the lengths some people have to go to get their voices heard. It also shows the value we place on technology in our current society for sparking interest among people, especially in my age group...the college group.

This is today’s culture, breaking laws to infiltrate networks to talk about a large distaste for squirrels in hopes it will be seen as analogous for great issues of much larger magnitudes that are being faced.  Way to go “V”!

"V For Vendetta Hacker Infiltrates Washington State University." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/v-for-vendetta-hacker-inf_n_780840.html>.Link to Video & Original Article

News Report #4

Help for Slow Mobile Phone Typists

Cell phones have come a long way from the early late 1990’s when they became popular. Now, practically everyone has a cell phone and cells are being used for much more than just making a typical phone call. Now, people can pay their bills, make dinner reservations, and have a long conversation with their best friend, without even verbally talking to anyone.

Texting has become a huge revolution in communication. People often prefer it because it is fast, and eliminates that extra personal interaction. In fact, I myself much prefer texting my mom as to having a long-winded conversation on the phone. Texting was once a rather slow and tedious process only using the twelve keys on the front of the cell phone, however, in recent years, after to explosion of text messaging, easier, convenient methods of texting are emerging. The QWERTY keyboard boosted the ease in which people could sent texts. It made the process faster and much more precise, but of course, technology is always changing.

Two students, Michael Fester and Volker Schlue, at Cambridge University in England, have created a new method that replaces the keyboard, synonymous among most “texters”. The design is called the 8Pen. This new phone interface contains no keyboard, just a colorful X with a black dot. The letters are placed along the X on each side, but the tricky part is that the letters are not placed in alphabetical order. The students placed the letters using a logical rhythm…they just placed the letters most used first, to make the ease of selecting those letters quicker and much more efficient. The whole process is rather confusing to understand, but the method has been claimed to be much faster, after you get the hang of it..of course.

This is very interesting to me because it shows just how technology evolves. This new method, which seems more complicated than ancient keyboard, will actually prove to be much easier. It is completely different from any typing method currently used, but it focuses on using common logic to create something that better fits out technological needs.  I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the 8Pen.

BILTON, NICK. "8Pen Mobile Keyboard Aims to Speed Up Typing –

NYTimes.com." Technology - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/8pen-hopes-to-reinvent-the-mobile-phone-keyboard/?ref=technology>.

Forget Google, Jump on Board with the Infodiet :)

It is obvious that libraries and their resources are becoming obsolete in the face of Internet superstars like Google. People rarely take notice, nor do they really care, because searching the web seems so much easier and much more efficient. However, as Steven J. Bell points out, by using the scholarly databases that libraries provide, more pertinent high quality information can be accessed without having to search through some of the more “junky” alternatives offered by search engines.

Bell uses the term “infobesity” to refer to the utilization of the overwhelming elements of big search engines like Google. “Infodieting” gives a nice metaphor for using the library’s vast collection of information.  If the library offers a much savvier agglomeration, then why aren’t we using it?! Well that is simple. Library databases are hard to use. It can be difficult to coin Boolean terms and navigate through all the different sources of information. I should know, I just completed the database activity! 

Anyhow, Bell’s solution is to make library databases user-friendly to encourage usage. Of course, there are objections, for instance, that this new alternative would cheapen the hard earned purpose of heavy research, because “research is a process of discovery.” Well, as a college student, I can say that I am in a constant process of discovery and by enabling my ability to search through valid, scholarly sources that are credible with ease, my process of discovery is ONLY expounding in various directions.

Reading this article is very relevant to our library research class, UNCW campus, and the whole breach between the library and overall population in general. If I had not decided to take LIB 103, I would not have the slightest idea what a database is, or a scholarly journal; nor would I be able to navigate through the selection of hardcover book titles. I would even be bold enough to say that about eighty percent of our campus is in the same boat as I was. The library offers so many sources of rich information and by keeping it locked up within the confines of nit picky search techniques, it is of no use. It is better accept change (for the radical librarians, professors, etc) and embrace a newer system. Otherwise, we will stick with the outdated methods, and do an injustice to a limitless supply of information that could spark infinite possibilities. 

Reading #3

It is an indisputable fact that our world is changing, technology is replacing our traditional methods, and many do not welcome this change… but is it necessarily for the worst? Many people are frightened by the newest library trends and feel threatened by the inevitable switch over to the newest forms of technology and intangible reading materials versus tangible materials. However, to contend in this ever-changing society, libraries must raise the bar, in order to keep their appeal.

The articles we were assigned to read focused on the changes taking place in the library setting. Libraries are moving from traditional book filled shelves to computers, wii stations, and coffee shops. Even librarians are changing their image making parodies of their long held “shush” stereotypes on YouTube etc. In fact, the whole faces of libraries are changing, from the interior to the staff. Librarians are expected to, for the most part, possess a certain degree of technological knowledge and be available for assistance in such areas. The job is much more demanding than just sorting and recommending books.

I can understand why so many people are threatened by the changes taking place in libraries today. Especially among the older generation that doesn’t really utilize the newer forms of technology. However, I think these changes are hard to swallow in some aspects but definitely necessary. Libraries are thriving, despite the fact that less people are reading books today. The library offers many free services that people need like Internet, copy machines, books on tape, etc. Library attendance is on the rise since new technologies have been incorporated. I know at my very own library in my hometown this exact sequence of events has transpired. The library used to be in a smaller location downtown, but then they moved the library and brought in a bunch of new computers, a coffee shop, and even a baby hedgehog. Needless to say, I had never seen so many people in the library.

The services that libraries offer are often taken for granted. Regardless of whether the library is leather bound books or downloads for your Kindle, people need the library and the library needs people. 

News Report #3

Facebook suffers 'worst outage' in 4 years; Qwest sees packet loss

This article particularly sparked my interest. I am a devout Facebookian. It is almost an addiction; an almost dangerous addiction for that matter. My first semester of college has been somewhat rocky and definitely a hard adjustment, and therefore Facebook has been almost a crutch; a way for me to keep in contact with friends and family at home, as well as allowing stress relief from various assignments.

Indeed, a great distraction and time waster, Facebook as inexplicably stolen valuable time that I could be spending on assignments and studying. Therefore, it was inevitable that I would have to cut off my Facebook usage, because limiting it was not working. I made a personal goal to not log on my Facebook for one week. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard, and I literally had major Facebook cravings, but I found such creative ways to use my time. I completed all my assignments early and I even had time to do crafts and read (imagine that).  

Getting off this tangent, I will refer back to my article. This shows just what a big impact Facebook is having on our society. The fact that this social networking giant was down for a couple hours and a day at the most for some people was almost a cause for panic. My own Facebook went down this same day and I really did get quite frustrated myself.  However, should something as simple as checking your picture comments and Facebook chat be a cause for widespread panic? This outage not only made headlines on many tech websites but it also made its way to headlines on the news.

Ten years ago most people didn’t even know what a social network was, nor did they belong to one. Can you imagine not having a social network in today’s world? Are we a Facebook dependent society? You be the judge.

Krazit, Tom. "Facebook suffers 'worst outage' in 4 years; Qwest sees packet loss | Relevant Results - CNET News." Technology News - CNET News. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Sept. 2010. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20017463-265.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;mostPopular>. 

News Report #2

Get a 2TB external hard drive for $99.99

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13845_3-20016192-58.html?tag=cnetRiver

This post is a bit unconventional, as I am posting about something for sale rather than an actual report, however, I am very interested in new technology, the concept of space, and price fluctuations.

Moofi, a sister version of Woot, is now offering a 2 Terabyte external hard drive for a mere $99. I am a huge fan of the external hard drive. It is a great way to store my music, pictures, and writing without a complete space capacity overload on my new Mac Book (my baby).  However, 2 WHOLE TERABYTES! The idea of that much space is almost unfathomable, at least for me.

A terabyte is one thousand gigabytes or one trillion bytes, respectively.  Just to put this in laymen’s terms, one terabyte equals about a thousand gigabytes, and one gig can hold about two hundred and fifty songs give or take. That means one terabyte can hold up to two hundred and fifty thousand songs. So when you purchase your 2 TB external hard drive, you have the space capacity to hold up to five hundred thousand pieces of music. Absolutely amazing.

Why do I think this is so incredible? I can actually remember in 2007 when Hitachi produced the first one-terabyte external hard drive. It sold for four hundred dollars, which at the time seemed like a steal to me. Now, in three years, the price is a fourth of its original and the product has twice the capacity. It is amazing how technology has such amazing price fluctuations based on supply vs. demand. I was pricing some electronics last night and the Walkman cd player, a staple in my childhood, was priced at and around $30. I remember when I was growing up; a cheap conventional Walkman could be purchased for $10. Because of the lack of demand, the supply has decreased, and the Walkman is now more expensive.

So really, who has 2 terabytes of data to store? It kind of goes back to our American philosophy that bigger is better and more is good. You may not need more, but you crave more.  

Reading #2

Is Wikipedia a Victim of  Its Own Success?

It is common knowledge that the Internet is always changing. I do not think people really spend a lot of time pondering this issue, nor do they really notice it. However, big websites like Wikipedia definitely face the changing times with a wary and vigilant eye.

When Wikipedia first hit the scene in the early Millennium, its growth skyrocketed...exponentially. The amounts of visitors flocking to the site were unprecedented and no one could see an end in sight for the free-based information giant, that is, until now.

With only a small about of contributors the site has become somewhat biased. Not only that, but the rules have tightened and Wikipedia is becoming quite strict and downright persnickety.  They have upped the ante when it comes to writing/ editing an article for the site. In my opinion, that is what made it so beautiful. Information could be found on Wikipedia about virtually any topic…whether it was necessarily true or not, it provided endless entertainment and sparked interest.

As a self-proclaimed Wikipedia lover, I will always support the website for what it is: a free, fast, fun selection of knowledge, as long as it stays this way. Wikipedia has a way of condensing information and making it easier to comprehend. Of course, I cannot use Wikipedia as a source for a paper, but I sure can read an article on Wikipedia to better my understanding of Nuclear Physics.

Indeed, I am saddened by the changes taking place with my beloved informational index. The community of Wikipedians has gradually dissipated and now only includes a small, limited, group of intellectuals that run the show. This “elite” has stripped the site of it’s varied information, quirky spontaneous quality, and most importantly…its profound diversity, to establish a website that is seemingly more scholarly. Wikipedia is what it is.

In my opinion Wikipedia is losing its authenticity, and becoming just another Britannica.  With only a very small class, race, and gender being represented, how does Wikipedia expect to continue to uphold its ostentatious appeal to an ever-changing world full of different people with different cultures and beliefs?

Reading #1

I admire Paul S. Piper and his unfastened approach to Internet fraudulence in his book “Web Hoaxes, Counterfeit Sites, and Other Spurious Information on the Internet”.  He provides an excruciatingly detailed outline of the various and MULTIPLE examples of erroneous information found on the Web.

The websites and their messages vary just about as much as the different types of categories they are placed. For example, there is a hoax about the animal rights group Anti Hunting Happy Association. The site claimed that deer were captured and put in orange vests so that hunters would mistake them for other hunters and not shoot them. This website, seemingly harmless and very funny made it to big entertainment/informative websites like FOX.com and ESPN.com. Shows how well they checked the validity of that news. Then again there are darker sides to Internet fraudulence. Sites like martinlutherking.org are malicious and provide disinformation.  They give false, unsupported information about King. These malicious/disinformation websites take a very radical approach to many events like the Holocaust. Many incorporate politics, and religion through pernicious content or parody and spoof.

While reading this article my first question was to ask, “Why haven’t these websites been shut down?” I realized however, that these conspiracy websites challenge people to think, and I am all for Internet neutrality and freedom. I admire Piper’s ability to look at both sides of the issue as well.  On page 19 he states, “Only a truly free society can allow free exchange of ideas regardless of how reprehensible they might seem.” Although these websites may provide false content, they still provide a new perspective and give people the right to think beyond and question things.

However, I do have qualms with a varied number of topics discussed. I was disturbed by the story about the Serbian hackers, the “Black Hand” and how easily they infiltrated the government websites of various countries. I also found the excerpt about false health information very unnerving. The information about AIDs  is dangerous and could really misguide people. Also, I think if information is going to be false, websites should not be allowed to trap the audience, like when the disinformation is linked with a title saying “Student Research Page”.

Indeed Piper researched his topic well and provided a mosaic of varied and resourceful examples. I enjoyed reading this article, although lengthy. 

News Report #1

Older Folks on Social Networks Are Growing Fast

Barry Levine, newsfactor.com – Fri Aug 27, 5:06 pm ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20100827/tc_nf/74945;_ylt=AmpOKBGTqXWFRr.JZq.V0Cb6VbIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJjNDk1ajBkBGFzc2V0A25mLzIwMTAwODI3Lzc0OTQ1BHBvcwMzMgRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNvbGRlcmZvbGtzb24-

In the past decade the technological advances we have encountered are almost overwhelming. It is hard to imagine what life would be like without Internet.  Over the past couple of years things like social networking has replaced the older ways of communicating. The younger generation rarely uses things like email to keep in touch; instead, they use social networking sites like Twitter, Myspace, or Facebook. In the past year however, these networking sites have opened up and appealed to a wide new array of people from various age groups.

According to a study performed by the American Life Project and Pew Research Center, Internet users over 50 have doubled their numbers on social networking sites.  This number reflects the increasing popularity of Internet among the older generations. Although, social networking sites are still dominated by users primarily between 18 and 29 years old, with approximately 86% of people between these ages belonging to some form of social networking site.  The numbers of older generations are catching up quick.

Many argue that this collaboration of ages on social networking sites will be beneficial because it bridges the gaps between the generations and makes communication much easier.I personally dislike the influx of older users on social networking sites. I believe that it will likely cause much more harm that good. I understand that it is beneficial because it is easier to talk with Grandma over the Internet, but it is also much less personal. Social networking has caused people to forge impersonal relationships and made communication almost TOO easy.

Back to what I said about social networking between the young and old being detrimental…I don’t think it is necessarily safe for a variety of reasons. One being that many teens are actively involved on social networking sites. This makes it so easy for older predators to communicate with these kids, manipulate them, and possible take advantage. It makes conversation easy, and private…something these predators would have trouble doing in our everyday world.

Also, with the changing times, it seems many elders don’t have a grip on what is now socially acceptable. It can cause big problems when people have pictures tagged of them drinking, or getting a tattoo…and then changing a relationship status to “married” to a best friend of the same sex as a joke. The older generation doesn’t understand, and it causes problems.

It really gets old having everyone and their grandpa trying to add my on Facebook every time I sign in.