I have learned so much in this IT 101X class. I think one of the most important things is the great communication methods that there are. Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and skype were all new to me and it was so interesting to find out about so many more ways that people can contact each other and make information and thoughts available to other people. Through the ways that we used these features for our class and as assignments, I was able to see how useful they can be for a variety of reasons. Not only are they used for personal entertainment and communication, but they can also be used for groups, such as our own class, that need to share important information and media.
I also learned a lot about connecting the different types of technology that we learned about and used. I always was surprised when I again realized that we could attach so many forms of media back to the wiki. Besides inserting hyperlinks, we could add pictures, sound, video, and documents to the wiki, our websites, and our blogs. It was so interesting to see that they could all be interconnected and edited. All these things that I have learned will definitely help me as I continue to learn more about technology and its many different types and uses.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
CIS Presents: Electronic Voting
Electronic Voting: Upgrading our Democracy
Electronic voting has become an important issue in our country. Past elections, such as the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George Bush, have led people to question the accuracy of our voting methods. In our current paper ballot system, there are many places where mistakes/fraud happen, such as: registration, polling places, poll workers, ballots, voting mechanism, district tally, aggregate tally, and recount. The pros of the old-fashioned voting method are that the votes are verifiable in a recount and the process is simple to administer. The cons are that it is an inflexible design, the poll workers must be trusted, and the votes are slow to tally.
People have certain expectations of elections. These are: 1) that every vote counts 2) that every vote is counted 3) that every vote accurately reflects the intent of the voter 4) that the voting public has confidence in the electoral system 5) that the paper record is the legal representation of the vote 6) that electronic records can be audited and compared with the paper records 7) that election equipment and systems are open for public review.
Four characteristics of a perfect voting system would be accuracy, anonymity, scalability, and speed. A voting system must be accurate in tallying correctly and being secure from interference. It must be anonymous so that all the ballots are secret and there is no way to force a person's vote. The voting system must be scalable in that it can handle large and small elections, can handle mixes of candidates and issues, can serve the disabled, and can serve other languages. In the United States, the people demand a quick result of the elections, so the speed of the system is also another important factor.
The Help America Vote Act is an act that requires states to modernize voting equipment, centralize registered voter polls, require a driver's license to register, and make voting machines accessible for the disabled. The Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machine (DRE) is one way of making the voting process electronic. Through it, the voter is issued a smart card with the appropriate ballot on it, the vote is recorded on a hard drive, and the card is reused for other voters. However, potential problems with this system are that the hard drive could crash, a person could vote multiple times, and you must trust that whatever you press is what is actually recorded.
Overall, the pros of e-voting are that it is easy to use, there is electronic guidance throughout the process, there can be audio prompting, ADA devices, and different languages. The cons of e-voting are that it requires the poll workers to have a high-tech expertise, the system could be hijacked, there may be software bugs, and the voting is difficult to verify. All these factors will contribute to the eventual use or rejection of e-voting as the primary system of voting.
Electronic voting has become an important issue in our country. Past elections, such as the 2000 presidential election between Al Gore and George Bush, have led people to question the accuracy of our voting methods. In our current paper ballot system, there are many places where mistakes/fraud happen, such as: registration, polling places, poll workers, ballots, voting mechanism, district tally, aggregate tally, and recount. The pros of the old-fashioned voting method are that the votes are verifiable in a recount and the process is simple to administer. The cons are that it is an inflexible design, the poll workers must be trusted, and the votes are slow to tally.
People have certain expectations of elections. These are: 1) that every vote counts 2) that every vote is counted 3) that every vote accurately reflects the intent of the voter 4) that the voting public has confidence in the electoral system 5) that the paper record is the legal representation of the vote 6) that electronic records can be audited and compared with the paper records 7) that election equipment and systems are open for public review.
Four characteristics of a perfect voting system would be accuracy, anonymity, scalability, and speed. A voting system must be accurate in tallying correctly and being secure from interference. It must be anonymous so that all the ballots are secret and there is no way to force a person's vote. The voting system must be scalable in that it can handle large and small elections, can handle mixes of candidates and issues, can serve the disabled, and can serve other languages. In the United States, the people demand a quick result of the elections, so the speed of the system is also another important factor.
The Help America Vote Act is an act that requires states to modernize voting equipment, centralize registered voter polls, require a driver's license to register, and make voting machines accessible for the disabled. The Direct Recording Electronic Voting Machine (DRE) is one way of making the voting process electronic. Through it, the voter is issued a smart card with the appropriate ballot on it, the vote is recorded on a hard drive, and the card is reused for other voters. However, potential problems with this system are that the hard drive could crash, a person could vote multiple times, and you must trust that whatever you press is what is actually recorded.
Overall, the pros of e-voting are that it is easy to use, there is electronic guidance throughout the process, there can be audio prompting, ADA devices, and different languages. The cons of e-voting are that it requires the poll workers to have a high-tech expertise, the system could be hijacked, there may be software bugs, and the voting is difficult to verify. All these factors will contribute to the eventual use or rejection of e-voting as the primary system of voting.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Linux Blog: Digital Domain
Digital Domain is an advanced production studio that generates visual effects for movies, commercials, and new media applications. Before Digital began working on the project for the movie Titanic, it began the search for the right operating system. For the second stage of image creation, called batch-processing, Digital had to pick an operating system that would allow it to create the highest quality images within its financial and time constraints. Digital Domain chose Linux because it was able to handle every type of job that it was given. During the testing stage to determine which operating system to use, Linux's ability to emulate Digital UNIX applications was used to show that its performance would meet Digital's needs. Linux had an advantage over the other operating systems because of the existing devices and available source code. Digital chose to use the Linux distribution Red Hat 4.1.
Digital selected to use Linux because it helped the company to overcome its challenges both quickly and cost-effectively. Digital needed interoperability and compatibility with its SGI/Irix-based systems. Digital was able to port critical infrastructure elements that would support distributed processing to the Linux environment in a matter of days. Linux allowed Digital to increase its performance to the degree that it needed to handle the Titanic project within the current facilities. Linux was also extremely cost-effective for Digital because it only required half the amount of machines that another operating system would have needed.
Overall, Linux was an important risk taken by Digital that resulted in increased quality and saved time. Digital was able to incorporate a system that was compatible with its normal operating models and increased productivity.
Here is the link to the article: http://www2.linuxjournal.com/article/2494
Digital selected to use Linux because it helped the company to overcome its challenges both quickly and cost-effectively. Digital needed interoperability and compatibility with its SGI/Irix-based systems. Digital was able to port critical infrastructure elements that would support distributed processing to the Linux environment in a matter of days. Linux allowed Digital to increase its performance to the degree that it needed to handle the Titanic project within the current facilities. Linux was also extremely cost-effective for Digital because it only required half the amount of machines that another operating system would have needed.
Overall, Linux was an important risk taken by Digital that resulted in increased quality and saved time. Digital was able to incorporate a system that was compatible with its normal operating models and increased productivity.
Here is the link to the article: http://www2.linuxjournal.com/article/2494
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Student Pocket Pak
The Microsoft Student Pocket Pak has a lot of really good programs that I will be able to use. One is the 4.0 Student Planner. I was really excited when I saw that it had this because, previously, I used to keep my calendar and assignment book together in one planner. Now, however, I use my pocket pc for my calendar, but I don't like having the two things in separate places. The 4.0 Student Planner is a program that lets you keep track of all your assignments on your ppc. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it is hard to type in all of your assignments, especially when they are detailed. So, for now, I just put in my long-term assignments.
Mundu Radio, Google Maps, and Handy Weather
I downloaded the Mundu Radio program to my pocket pc. I think having the radio on your ppc is really cool and useful. For example, yesterday I was going to be traveling for about an hour, and I wanted to take my mp3 player with me, but it wasn't charged. Since I don't have all my music on my ppc, I couldn't take it instead. But now, with Mundu Radio on my ppc, I can just take that with me and listen to the radio.
I also downloaded the Google Maps program. One time when my family and I were going skiing, my dad was using Google Maps on his blackberry for directions. I know that it really worked well for us then, so I am assuming that I will be able to take advantage of it as well.
^ I found the directions from my house to Bentley
I also downloaded the Google Maps program. One time when my family and I were going skiing, my dad was using Google Maps on his blackberry for directions. I know that it really worked well for us then, so I am assuming that I will be able to take advantage of it as well.
^ I found the directions from my house to Bentley
I also really like the Handy Weather program that our presentation was about. I will be sad when the 14 day trial runs out :( I like being able to know the weather for your area or anywhere else in the world.
Monday, February 12, 2007
CIS Presents
Today I went to the CIS presentation called "Data, Dollars, and the Unintentional Subversion of Human Rights" given by Thomas White. Mr. White spoke about ethical issues in the IT industry and well-intentioned decisions that resulted in unintended negative consequences. He began by talking about the petroleum and auto industries and how no one predicted the consequences of consuming so much gasoline in SUVs and Hummers. As a result, the price of gasoline, the amount of energy consumed, and the amount of petroleum imported greatly increased over 30 years.
Mr. White believes that these unintended negative consequences were a result of poverty of the imagination and ethical illiteracy. People failed to recognize the global implications of local buyer and seller behavior and the risk of harm from current actions was not considered in view of the rights of future generations. Also, he stated that there was a faulty conception of business in a democracy. People needed to realize that there are restrictions on business through laws and ethics and that human rights need to be taken into consideration.
The information technology (IT) industry has similar opportunities and problems to those of the petroleum and auto industries. The upside of the IT industry is that it is healthy and vibrant, with regular technological advances that enhance services, conveniences, and productivity. However, there are also issues that involve ethics and the invasion of personal privacy. One issue involves obtaining the ISP addresses of illegal downloaders. Another deals with radio frequency ID tags that can be put in items of clothing, credit cards, and other items to identify a person, track what is bought, and find out where a person is. Also, there was the situation with Microsoft, Cisco, Google, and Yahoo in China. They agreed to censor their information and provide user information to the government in order to conduct their business there. Overall, Mr. White’s message was that people need to consider all the consequences that their business actions will have. I thought this presentation was very interesting and informing, showing me how even well-intentioned decisions can have negative results.
Mr. White believes that these unintended negative consequences were a result of poverty of the imagination and ethical illiteracy. People failed to recognize the global implications of local buyer and seller behavior and the risk of harm from current actions was not considered in view of the rights of future generations. Also, he stated that there was a faulty conception of business in a democracy. People needed to realize that there are restrictions on business through laws and ethics and that human rights need to be taken into consideration.
The information technology (IT) industry has similar opportunities and problems to those of the petroleum and auto industries. The upside of the IT industry is that it is healthy and vibrant, with regular technological advances that enhance services, conveniences, and productivity. However, there are also issues that involve ethics and the invasion of personal privacy. One issue involves obtaining the ISP addresses of illegal downloaders. Another deals with radio frequency ID tags that can be put in items of clothing, credit cards, and other items to identify a person, track what is bought, and find out where a person is. Also, there was the situation with Microsoft, Cisco, Google, and Yahoo in China. They agreed to censor their information and provide user information to the government in order to conduct their business there. Overall, Mr. White’s message was that people need to consider all the consequences that their business actions will have. I thought this presentation was very interesting and informing, showing me how even well-intentioned decisions can have negative results.
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