Module 13

Brandi Barnett
IST 1100
4/13/13

Hey all, the time has come where we say goodbye to this semester and start our summer vacation or for some people to shake their head in disgust and asking why am I doing summer classes agian? You will get through it I promise (eh probably not). This paper is to reflect on past assignments and getting to pick the good, bad, and the ugly of the course. Lets begin shall we:

     For the first few blog entries we were to have read The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman. I generally skip the big and thick books like this and obviously the title is not interesting to me. I am more of you know vampires sucking blood and zombies eating brains kind of person. So getting this book was defiantly a ball buster for me. However, I as it pains me to say it really liked this book. Now, don’t get me wrong there was boring parts I really wish I did not have to read. I did enjoy is opinion on the ten major reasons why the world is flat. While, reading further into the ten flatteners I finally began to get into the book. The Berlin Wall I was like just born when that happened while it was a great piece of history that happened I was just not in to it simply because I have no idea it even happened till middle school or high school. So, when it came to talking about computers and the business aspect of why the world was flat I was all ears. Computers are essentially the worlds greatest influence on mankind. Without it we would be lost since we became so dependent on it and we would of course go back to writing with pencil and paper if something were to ever happen a la revolution and computers were not existent. Overall, it was a very good read and I would truly recommended it. And, the book is available online for free. So, tell future students.

      Other blog assignments was to read articles and get to watch a movie. I really enjoyed reading “Why The Future Doesn't Needs Us” by Bill Joy. It was quite a read. I like to hear peoples arguments on certain subjects and his was one of them. He had some good arguments on the matter of GNR, but there is always a risk to everything and you can’t let that stop anyone from creating something that could be life saving. It is a chance us millions of people are willing to take.

       I am always hesitant on taking online classes since I am a forgetful person and frankly it is hard to remember you have another class. But, this one was very easy to remember since the due dates were always the same for each assignment. I did not know what to expect logging on for this class and it is definitely still not what I was expecting. I really like the class setup and what not. I was already in the blog universe since I had to do it for another class so that was not new to me and actually like that teachers are becoming more found of it. I have found new fond interests thanks to this class. Thank you.

Module 12

Brandi Barnett
IST 1100
4/6/13

This week we are supposed to read “Why The Future Needs Us” by Bill Joy and explain what GNR is and what the author fears about the. The three components to GNR are: genetic engineering, nanotechnology, robotics. The author describes how each of them will destroy man kind as we know it.

       Genetic engineering is to create a ton of crop yields while minimizing the use of pesticides to make thousands of special species of bacteria, animals, etc. and possibly help with cloning. Like with anything else genetic engineering has major side effects that Joy fears is a problem since it can be deadly his other fear is that it will create power for a white plague.

       Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale to create a utopian future of abundance. Which, would solve any disease or physical problem imaginable. Joy has issues with this particular subject because is it ethically right to do such a thing? Not only that he also fears what it can become of such great technology improvement. It can lead to a massive destruction if put into the wrong hands since it can grow back cells.

     Robotics that someone can create robots that could be really intelligent than the human race itself. What comes with a highly intelligent robot comes fear. We thrive on knowledge whether we like it or not and that could lead to humans discovering new things like building a robot which come on it is pretty cool, but it is a concern since these highly effective robots could possibly take over the human population with their really intelligent ways.

     Bill Joy is not wrong when voicing his concerns over GNR, because the greatest fear is the fear of oneself and those of others. GNR are ultimately weapons that can be used against us from outside sources or even from within our own walls. However, GNR will never replace humans because we are always in control and the future will forever need us.

Module 11; WarGames

For this assignment we were able to watch some sort of computer related movie which did not bug me one bit.I decided to watch WarGames because I absolutely love this movie and this was the perfect reason to watch it again. This time I noticed a lot more since I was watching more for the assignment and not solely on entertainment.

The movie is about a teenage hacker who hacks into a top secret computer game which unbeknownst to him the game is actually a United States military computer programmer that is programmed to predict possible outcomes of a nuclear war. When the hacker plays the game and picks a country he wants to nuke he is actually playing in real life as well and putting a lot people and countries in danger and almost starting World War III as a result.This is something that it is not very likely to happen today not necessarily the hacker part but the computer programming aspect of it. However, I do believe it could have 100 percent happened when computers were just becoming popular, but not so today. When computers have been around for a long time you learn how they work and what to do and not to do. And, because of that a few years ago the real nuclear plan was drawn out never computerized. But, back then when computers were the new up and coming no one knew just how it could work even the government was new to everything and trying to learn the new technology. So, you store everything on this computer thinking oh it will be fine not knowing it could somewhat endanger lives if it ends up in the wrong hands if you're careful. Trust was a very deal back in the early 80's we are all working together and to have someone hack into your system not just anyone but a kid is a big deal. When the movie came out some kids got the idea to hack their way into the defense department computer system and succeed. Hacking has come a long way since then and it is taking over by the minute. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) the computer programmer in the movie is actually designed to withstand a heavy bombing and tracking Santa.

Social awareness was a big theme in the movie basically act in a way you know is right and accepted and know the consequences to those wrongdoings. Hacking into anything and gathering information you know nothing about or doing it to hurt others for fun is not socially acceptable when that person knows its wrong in doing so and can have some dire consequences for either parties. In the movie the hacker gets caught and ends up trying to prove his innocence that he did not do this on purpose and wasn't some type of "spy". Moral of the movie do not hack or (just watch what you are hacking into).

Module 10

Brandi Barnett
IST 1100
3/23/13

       The writing in this story was out of this world and very hard to comprehend at times.

Which is why I loved everything thing about “A Logic Named Joe” it was funny and witty. I was truly

surprised when I saw it was written in 1946 the author predicted what computers would be like very

accurately when computers back then were practically still in the womb. Man, I really wanted to

know what the best way to make a lot of money was, out of curiosity of course.

    The author described computers like a big TV where you preview anything you want on it just by

punching the screen and brings up what you asked for. He said it would have a keyboard, software,

processing, and it would be in homes and business around the world (which we have today on our

computers). He also predicted video (you tube), communication (skype) internet, censor ship for

young kids (still working on that) etc. of course he couldn't have predicted that once something is on

the internet it is on there forever.

    The author mentions something called “The Tank” in the story and all I could think of when I read

it was the “Think Tank” from an episode of Psych. Of course, there is no correlation between the two

(eh) I just love that show. Anyways, “The Tank” the author refers to is a set of information to

translates to servers on the web which then would come up with whatever result it wanted to.

The World Is Flat: Module 9

Brandi Barnett
IST 1100
3/15/13


        Well Dell computers have six factories world wide which has its very own logistics system where many parts of the computers are held. Dell will call up one of those factories for parts and those parts will be where it needs to be within minutes. Dell would rather use the help of multiple suppliers rather than one big one in case something goes wrong down in supply demand. Sale and delivery takes about a few hundred companies and a lot of big wigs to make this happen. No two countries will ever go to war if they are both packing the same supply chain. 

   Yes, Al Qaeda has a supply chain they just work off other supply chains from other businesses. They use their source of religion to manipulate the chain of supply. They use it for recruitment for trainers and followers, raise money, and to pass along the tools they use in their operations. They have used our technology to their advantage. 
   
   Curse of the oil is when one there is no taxing on oil and when a country has no one looking out for how the oil is being used. Companies are laughing all the way to the bank all awhile abusing the system since there is no one taking care of the oil business. Since there is no tax money on the oil, there is no money to contribute to make some of those countries a little better. 

Module 8

Brandi Barnett
3/2/13
IST 1100

While growing up my mom had bought a whole collection of encyclopedias that were to be used by my siblings and I. We did have to read cover to cover (she was once of one those moms) but we only got to a few of them before computers were becoming popular and everyone had to get one even my family. After the computers were introduced in my household my mom gave up and figured we would use that for learning. I was in elementary when my family first acquired this fascinating new piece of technology. I was only allowed to play games on it for an hour once a week since I was so young. However, in elementary we had computer time where we would do some type of subject matter on there and during recess we could play games on it. Even with little access to the computer it was such a huge deal as a little kid to be playing with this big toy. Older generations would go on to say people my age have become the lazy generation for relying on technology so young and so fast.

            I spent parts of my life in California before moving to Utah. I moved to Utah the summer after 7^th grade. My middle school in California had no computers except for the ones for the teachers. Students were not allowed access. We had to do computer work at home or at the library. My dad was really strict and never let me use it even for homework he would always tell me to go to the library and read up on it. Yes, I know what I library is barely. When I moved to Utah and started Jr. High that school had a lot more computers then what I was used to. I was overwhelmed because I did not know how to properly use one. That was the beginning of my “laziness.”

            In high school computers were heavily relied on for homework and answers. Thanks to Google. I am a Google queen. During my senior year administrators new computers would be really useful out in the real world so they had a great idea in order to graduate we would need to take a computer class requirement and need at least a “B” to pass. We would learn the ins and outs of hard drives and monitors, software, printers, search engines. Etc. you name it we were taught it. We were the guinea pigs to see how things would go. It went extremely well. They do change a few things about it. But, I really loved that class and it was one of my favorites. To be able to learn this every growing technology is very powerful.

            Now, in college you need a computer to even survive. They are now offering e textbooks in some classes. We have online classes. We have to register online. We have to email teachers or text. Everything we do is via a computer. Most teachers lecture off of PowerPoint. It is an everyday occurrence using some type of software. What happened to the chalkboard days?

            Some days I am very grateful for a computer and the internet. It is such easy access for everything. Regardless of it being true or not. Then, there are days where I could just pop open those encyclopedia and just read and do research based on that. But, that is way too much work. It is true we are the lazy generation. I wonder what will become of the kids who are being brought up in a technology based world today.

The World Is Flat: Part 6

Brandi Barnett
IST 1100
2/16/13

Hello again,

Free trade is trading for free. Kidding, of course. Free trading is actually a trade between nations. David Ricardo a  came up with the idea of free trade. Ricardo thought it would be an economic advantage if we could trade goods with other nations. Ricardo made it free so that it can be easily to import and sell. I think free trade is very important in this never ending flat world. It allows countries to sell what other countries are selling and maybe even improve it a little a sell it. As long as people demand the goods and service there will not be a problem with free trade.

       A new middler is someone who is middle class. To make it in any world you need to be untouchable where jobs are not outsourced or digitized. Friedman explained what a good middle class job is and what you need in eight categories: 1) Great collaborators and orchestrators must be able to translate the service of a global company for the local market. 2) The great synthesizers will be able to combine and distribute. 3) The great explainers will be able to explain what is happening in simple terms. 4) The great leverages will design computer programs that will work smarter and faster. 5) The great adapters have a high degree of skills who can apply said skills in any situation. 6) The green people (aliens!) are environmental and will become more efficient. 7) The passionate personalizers that will had their own touch on a boring job. 8) The great localizers is business people that will be able to compete globally with high techy stuff.

       CQ + PQ > IQ is a certain set of skills to learn that describes what the right stuff is to have for future employers and educators. CQ is the curiosity element and PQ is the passion element of a skill and of course IQ is the brainy element of all. It is very important because it teaches itself to become the successful person you are set out to be. You need to be passionate towards others in an environment show that you care about whatever you do. Have curiosity about new and different things explore. Discover what you are passionate about. These two are very important. Intelligence what in the world is that.

       I enjoyed this very much. I thought the CQ, etc. would be about computers I was like not again. It was very interesting to read it and how intelligence really is not the important like we are lead to believe. It is up there, but not like CQ +PQ.