Week 11 EOC: The Future of the Internet

The future of the Internet is unknown but from what we have seen develop in the last 20 years; the next 20 years will also be very surprising.  Alvin Roffler wrote ‘Future Shock’ where he predicted lots of changes  “In a series of global best-sellers, co-written with his wife Heidi, he anticipated, long in advance, today’s computer revolution, as well as cloning, the fragmentation of the family, cable television, VCRs, satellites, customized products, the speed-up of daily life, niche markets, virtual agents and the rise of the "knowledge economy." Ted Turner has credited Toffler with inspiring him to start CNN. According to Time magazine, the Tofflers "set the standard by which all subsequent would-be futurists have been measured."”   (tp://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnists/toffler/toff05.htm)

In the future the Internet will just evolve even more, I can see us using our thumb print to access our job instead of carrying a company badge.  I think the internet will be governed a lot more closely and everything we share online can come back to haunt us at a later time.  Medical technology will also evolve just like mentioned in the quote below; computer chips will become a norm on the surgery table.

“In the near future, we may be capable of installing the Internet directly into the user’s field of vision via a tiny computer chip implanted into the eye. Sound far-fetched? I doubt that it would sound far-fetched for Barbara Campbell, whose sight has been partially restored by a digital retinal implant (CNN reports on Barbara’s artificial retina²²).” (http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/08/11/the-future-of-the-internet/)  I think in the future everyone will have a chip installed on them maybe as part of a requirement at birth even pets; this will help minimize missing person alerts.  Just like in the movies that portrait the future, computer chips will be available and installed on a lot more objects.  Your voice will also serve as a command to say start your car.  Computers will be within easy access at various part of the city or even be carried on as small as a pen.  I think technology is great in that it makes our life much easier but it can also be a scary place for we don’t know how much more it will evolve, it’s a scary thought but definitely an interesting one.  

Week 10 EOC: Three Things On The Internet That I Think are Scary

The most important thing to remember when you are on your computer is to always protect it.  It very easy to be hacked by malicious hackers on the internet and your information on your pc should always be safe.  The scary part is that it is so easy to be attacked by hackers, the tools needed are just very minimal and the main tool you may already have your smart phone.  Hackers can be in a location where WiFi is available and with a copper wire, tin can and a smart phone able to access your computer, but there is more to this, this can be an extreme problem especially for businesses if they do not have a secure network.  There is actually a name for people who do this that is War Drivers,('Once a war driver connects to the network, he has the same access rights as any other user, and so can use all the network's resources and data.  If he is a hacker, he can also try to take control on the network or damage it.' How The Internet Works book pg 331). 

Another scary thing is that you can be sent a virus and it can come from your friend or families in an email form.  You should never open emails with attachments, especially if they have .exe on attachment.  Once these emails are open you inviting the hacker to take control of your computer. Lots of time these viruses are just dormand and nothing will happen until open, that is why it is extremely important never to open anything from unknown senders.  These hackers pose as someting nice but are very evil so be ware.

Most of all it is very important to always protect your computer with sometype of firewall and especially turn it off from time to time to give it a fresh start.

Week 9 EOC: What is Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is THE place to shop now, no need to wait in line the night before the opening of your favorite store hoping to be one of the lucky ones to purchase your item.  Cyber Monday is the first Monday following Black Friday, the start of the holiday shopping many merchants have adds, deals, coupons and specials going on that are only valid online and on Cyber Monday only.  Companies offer incentives to bring in new customers to their online shopping experience giving retailers much more exposure to new customers.  Most visitors on these sites may not shop on this particular day but most do come back to purchase before December 12 which guarantees receiving item right in time for Christmas.  For retailers the internet is becoming extremely powerful and I am sure no retail shop will want to miss out on this once a year opportunity and be part of this new trend.   As time goes on Cyber Monday will definitely become more popular changing the way we shop for the holiday season.

EOC Week 7: The Scary Internet

Have you ever experienced the feeling that someone is watching you? Perhaps while in social gathering or during a night out in the town?  Technology is watching you the scary part of this is that you don’t get that feeling of being watched.  So how can this happen, it called Google Earth.  With Google Earth you are constantly being watched so people can learn your schedule and if you live along or with family.   This can work both ways for positive and negative, if for instance you are going on vacation you would like to know what the place looks like and actually visit it through Google Earth before your arrival,  therefore giving you some idea of what to expect.

Week 7 BOC: Privacy Issues on the Web - Two companies that can spy on you.

Two companies that can spy on you are Microsoft and Google.  Google uses Google earth and with this technology it is so easy to track anyone down and find out their exact location. With Google earth to can reach any part of the world within seconds and see what is going on in real times.  Google Map and Google API are products that can easily be embedded into websites.“Google Earth is a geobrowser that accesses satellite and aerial imagery, ocean bathymetry, and other geographic data over the internet to represent the Earth as a three-dimensional globe. Geobrowsers are alternatively known as virtual globes or Earth browsers. Google also refers to Google Earth as a "geographic browser."” (http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/google_earth/what.html)

Microsoft uses Microsoft Connect to spy on people, they have developed systems like forum and groups where you can connect with other and give feedback for certain topics.  For small business owners you can submit bug reports and comments.

Week 6: EOC Video Challenge - Tentative Plans

My video will be about a cute little girl named Isabella, I will try to capture her funny moments that makes us all laugh. I will use the following tags, little girl, funny, 2 year old, silly and laughter. My plan is to try to film her every day over the next week so I can capture that one clip that will make everyone see how silly she can be. She dances everytime she listening to music and Barney and Elmo are her favorite friends, she can say some funny stuff when she is around them. One funny thing she does is, she can dance to different songs and follow the rythem. If the song has a beat like a hip-hop song she will move her head and feet really fast to follow the rythem, if the song is mellow and slow she will twirl around with her arms opened and dance like a ballerina. There are a few words that if you ask her to do, she'll just knows what to do ask her to show her 'happy feet' and you can see what she can do. She is just too cute.

BOC: Week 6 There is an app for that?

If you ever wonder if your spouse or girlfriend is cheating, worry no more, now there is an app for STD.

It was developed in the UK  with the idea behind it for young girls who were embarrassed to visit the doctor can easily be diagnosed by provide a test of their saliva or urine  by placing it on to a chip you can know within minutes if you have STDs. ‘According to the Guardian £4 million have been invested in the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, which is creating a smartphone app that will allow users, "to put urine or saliva on to a computer chip about the size of a USB chip, plug it into their phone or computer and receive a diagnosis within minutes."’
http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/future-alert-std-test-theres-app

Now it should be a breeze to have someone tested for STD before considering going out with that person or have your spouse provide a sample of their saliva and have results right away.   This can work both ways to prove you are innocent or being caught.

Week 5 EOC: What is the origin of the word 'Spam'?

When we hear of Spam we immediately relate it to the Hormel Foods processed luncheon meat, but not in the Internet world.  Spam is related to junk emails or abuse on the Internet, mainly consisting of  junk e-mails sent to people who have not requested them.   So, how did the word 'Spam' get to be a common word in the Internet?  It is thought that the first E-mail Spam came about in 1978.
'Use of the term "spam" was adopted as a result of the Monty Python skit in which our SPAM® canned meat product was featured. In this skit, a group of Vikings sang a chorus of "spam, spam, spam . . . " in an increasing crescendo, drowning out other conversation. Hence, the analogy applied because UCE was drowning out normal discourse on the Internet.' (http://www.spam.com/about/Internet.aspx).  The best way to get people to submit their e-mail addresses is by providing them with valuable information such as a monthly newsletter.

So is spamming illegal?  'Part of the problem is that the explosive growth of the Internet, and the very recent rise of professional spammers, has moved much faster than the laws, or the knowledge of the people who are supposed to enforce them. For example, most people at the US FCC, which has jurisdiction over interstate junk faxes, don't even know what junk e-mail is, let alone how the laws they enforce apply to it. (The FCC's Consumer Litigation department can be reached toll-free at 1-888-225-5322)' (http://spam.abuse.net/faq/)

Others think Spam got its name when a group of people decided to throw Spam luncheon meat to a moving fan, the mess this creates all over the room, walls and furniture is how they felt about receiving unwanted junk e-mails.

Week 5 EOC: What is IPv6?

For a long time the server provider for America has been IPv4, the birth to IPv6 has become the talk of the town among web designer and programmers. The change has come about because most experts believe we are getting close to running out of IP addresses. This will be a significant jump to what we have now, allowing information to be more secure because it will include encryption and will be more compatible with mobile applications.

‘The most notable change between IPv4 and IPv6 is the actual address. An IPv4 address was composed of 32 bits [4 bytes], which was portioned between network and host. The new IPv6 address is now 128 bits long [16 bytes], with the host portion being derived from a MAC address.’  (http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/web-hosting/archive/2010/10/26/colocation-america-begins-ipv6.aspx)

By having the new Ipv6 allows to have more IP addresses therefore more available uses for the Internet. One of the benefits is that it will allow a better quality of service when accessing live videos or making phone calls, this is because it gives priority to certain packets going through the internet.  Although Ipv6 will soon be available it will not be widely accepted right away, this can be because businesses will either have equipment that can run on IPv6 but may not have Internet capabilities to run on IPv6.  In these situations they will need a dual stack router which will allow both to run. The most important feature of IPv6 is the security and mainly developed for the mobile devices.

Week 5 EOC: What is the octet?

According to Webster’s Online Dictionary this is the definition of octet: ‘Octet (computing), a group of 8 bits, often referred to as a byte. Often used in networks and RFC request for Comment pages by the IETF Internet Engineering Task Force.’ (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/).

So the octet in relation to the internet is how eight different components come together and function as what we know as the Internet. There are different networks and a process it must follow for information to be submitted via the internet.  There are organizations of different networks; this is because it cannot all function in only one network.  A big part of the internet is funding it, ‘Through agencies such as the National Science Foundation, the federal government pays for some high-speed backbones that carry Internet traffic across the country and the world.’  ‘The government has also funded the Internet2, a super-fast net-work that can transfer data at an astounding 2.4 gigabits per second, for use by universities.’ (How the Internet Works pg 8).  Closer to home we have the regional networks which provide internet access within a geographic area.  These regional networks are bonded together and broken into even smaller networks to provide a much better service. 

Another big component for the internet are the registrars, this is usually provided by much bigger companies that provide domain names for the public to either individuals or companies.  After you or your company has a domain you want others to find you on the internet, this is where the internet service providers come in, another part the octet group. The internet service providers are mainly known as backbone because for a monthly fee people can access the internet via their home or place of business.

The InterNIC tracks the connections between the IP addresses and domain names; this network is also responsible for maintaining the registered domain names through the registries.  Lastly but yet very important is ‘The Internet Society is a private nonprofit organization that makes technological and architectural recommendations that pertain to the Internet, such as how TCP/IP and other Internet protocols should work.’ (Book: How the Internet Works pg 9).  This is another important part of the Octet internet system because as the internet grows their recommendations are very important as they find ways to best meet the demands of a fast growing Internet.

As you can see the Internet cannot function with just one network there is collaboration between different networks and each one has a very important part in making the Internet functional.  So next time you visit a website, just think of all the different networks needed so you can enjoy viewing that website from the comfort of your own home.

Week 3 EOC: 3 Times Internet

Three ways to connect to the internet are via your cell phone, cable and DSL.  There are many apps for different sites available and these are used mainly via your cell phone, this are just easy to use and get you connected to your site fast.  Cell phones send and receive information through the cellular radio links that are placed in different parts of town, this is the main reason why you are able to access the internet at all times through your cell phone.  Apps are very popular and easy to use on cell phones, there are many apps  available for a small fee and you can find many other for free.
Cable is what connects your computer to the internet, the cable runs from the main hub to a circuit in your house then from there you can connect either straight to the computer or if you have a router can use wireless internet from any part of your house without having to physically connect to the cable.
DSL has been around for the longest time but it's also the most slowest way to connect.  This is a special digital telephone connection.

Week 4 EOC: Deeper meaning of the movie BIG

The movie BIG is about a kid who is trapped in a grown up body.  He makes a wish at a carnival to be a grown up person and his wish quickly comes true.  He also wants to have the responsibilities that comes as an adult and starts applying for jobs.  When he goes to his first job interview, he gets hired on the spot after director discovers that the person who is assigned to take care of some computer assignments is just too busy with the planning of her wedding.  During the interview, the director asks the kid who is in a grown up body if he knows anything about computers, his response is yes, and gets hired immediately. This kid on the other hand is thrilled to find out he will be working in a toy company not really understanding the responsibilities that come with it.  After running into his boss at the toy store, the boss realizes he enjoys playing with toys so much that he will now name him director of the toy quality control department.

The deeper meaning I get from this movie is that you should have a passion for what you do.  When we go into a job we gets lots of responsibilities but if you love what you do they will not feel like work but more like everyday play and having fun.  As on the movie he was surprised to get paid while doing something he loves,  I think we should take the same approach be surprised at how much we can earn if we only do what we have a passion for.  Don't be afraid of the unknown, this will only limit ourselves, just like the movie he dove right into his wish of being a grown up without thinking of the responsibilities that came as an adult.  At the end he loved what he achieved, I think that is how it should be for each one of us too.

Week 1 EOC: Modern Internet

The internet has made our lives much easier, now we can conduct many services online changing the way we live, work and play.  We can do just about anything on the internet such as research, shopping, downloading music or movies, to connecting with friends on real time.   The internet consists of networks and organizations that provide their services on the World Wide Web known as the internet.  One of the many things we can do is access our bank account from anywhere internet is provided, and pay bills online or have it set to be paid on a specific date.  Another example is we can order and pick up dinner on the way home from work.

Shopping on the internet has made it easier to get what we want without standing in line, this is most popular during the busy holiday shopping seasons such as Christmas.  ‘Private companies who make money by selling access to their lines build backbones, which are very high capacity lines that carry enormous amounts of Internet traffic’  (How the Internet Works pg. 7).   Retail and large companies offer their products online too and at times certain products are only available through their website.   The great success and popularity of selling products online has created interest to other companies and are now doing the same thing.  Some companies are becoming paperless which means every aspect of their business is conducted via the internet saving trees and being cost effective by reducing postage.  Cell phones gives you quick access to the internet it allows you to shop from just about anywhere in the world and have it delivered to your specific destination or communicate with family or friends across the US.   Your whole vacation can be planned online from flight arrangements, car rental, hotel reservations, site seeing activities and even restaurant reservations.  With just a click of a button we can do so many things on the internet.

Week 2 EOC: Internet Privacy

How private is your e-mail?

When you send an e-mail message you send it to a specific person but many other people may also get it, how can this happen if it was meant for one specific individual?  There are many reasons why other people may see your e-mail.  If you use a free e-mail service such as Yahoo or Gmail your e-mails are stored somewhere in cyber space not on your computer.  If you send an e-mail from work, your employer may have access to all the e-mails that are sent and received from their e-mail system. There have actually been court cases where businesses are granted the right to monitor e-mail messages of their employees.

Every time you enter your e-mail address to websites to subscribe for their promotional, keep in mind you are also giving this information to other businesses.  E-mail marketing is a cost-effective way to keep you inform of the company’s latest news or specials.  This is another technique that is rapidly growing within businesses.
E-mails can also be subpoena and be obtained as part of a civil lawsuit.  The government can only get basic information from an e-mail and in order to get further records about the particular e-mail they must have a search warrant but after 180 days no warrant is needed.

“The USA Patriot Act passed by Congress after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and amended in 2006, makes it easier for the government to access records about online activity.” (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: http://www.privacyrights.org/)  This act also grants permission for the government to obtain different types of records from the internet without a court order.  We can expect to see more new laws regarding the internet privacy in the future.  So for now, when you send an e-mail, keep in mind it’s not only your recipient who will look at it but many other people can too.