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.