Link - http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/mitx-faq-1219.html
Synopsis - This article is about MITx, a degree offered by MIT for completing a series of online-courses that they will start in the Spring of 2012.
Stakeholders: The stakeholders in this are any students who might have been rejected by MIT but want to go there still, also any students applying to college in general that have that other option available.
Social and Ethical Issues: One of the biggest issues is Control in a way, because MIT is one of, if not the most prestigious colleges in the world. By offering an online set of classes through their school there will be more people studying at MIT that might not have initially gotten accepted.
Advantages: An advantage could be that more kids have an opportunity to a education from one of the best colleges. And it's online so it can be convenient for people who may also work part-time.
Opinion: It's cool that MIT is opening it's doors to more kids and branching out to form an online school, which many major colleges are starting to do.
I personally would probably not take advantage of MITx, since I'm not really a huge fan of math and science.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
Warmup: Waldorf School
Title: Silicon Valley School that doesn't compute
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?_r=3&hp=&pagewanted=all
Synopsis: Waldorf Schools are a string of schools around the country that dismiss the idea that computers and technology are aids in helping kids learn in schools and instead the schools try to encourage kids to use hands-on learning instead to help learning progress, their are no computers in the classrooms at all.
Stakeholders: The kids who go to Waldorf schools and their families and people who are wondering if technology does or doesn't help kids learn better in school
Social and Ethical Issues: Everybody is using technology, it's a part of our daily lives including in schools and these schools are isolating kids from learning to use the technology that they will have to use once in the world and out of schools which might make it hard for them to adapt
Area of Impact: Education
Opinion on Issues: I think this isn't a very good method, kids should learn to use technology from a young age since our society is more or less centered around the use of it, everyone uses computers and smartphones for the most part, so why not have these kids learn also how they can be tools to help them learn?
Agree or Disagree with Waldorf School: I disagree, because like I said before, isolating these kids from technology might hinder them more than help them
Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?_r=3&hp=&pagewanted=all
Synopsis: Waldorf Schools are a string of schools around the country that dismiss the idea that computers and technology are aids in helping kids learn in schools and instead the schools try to encourage kids to use hands-on learning instead to help learning progress, their are no computers in the classrooms at all.
Stakeholders: The kids who go to Waldorf schools and their families and people who are wondering if technology does or doesn't help kids learn better in school
Social and Ethical Issues: Everybody is using technology, it's a part of our daily lives including in schools and these schools are isolating kids from learning to use the technology that they will have to use once in the world and out of schools which might make it hard for them to adapt
Area of Impact: Education
Opinion on Issues: I think this isn't a very good method, kids should learn to use technology from a young age since our society is more or less centered around the use of it, everyone uses computers and smartphones for the most part, so why not have these kids learn also how they can be tools to help them learn?
Agree or Disagree with Waldorf School: I disagree, because like I said before, isolating these kids from technology might hinder them more than help them
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Warmup: Amazon Re-writes Rules of book Publishing
Title: Amazon Rewrites the rules of Book publishing
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/technology/amazon-rewrites-the-rules-of-book-publishing.html?_r=1
Amazon is starting to publish books books on their own, they are publishing now122 different books in regular and e-book form. They hired people who have experience in that field to work for them, in short, amazon is becoming a all-in-one place for book buying, selling and publishing.
The stakeholders are authors and other publishing companies, authors now have a choice to publish with amazon and in short, cut out the middle man which was publishing companies. Publishers are scared because amazon is now going to try and take over the publishing business now also.
The area of impact affected is Business and Employment, because this is strictly for business. Amazon is doing this to make more money since if they publish their own books than they would be cutting out the middleman which was the publishing companies, it also affects employment because since they started a publishing section of amazon, they have to employ more people to work on that section of the company.
Future changes that might occur is that amazon will slowly start to do more and more so that they cut out middlemen for all sections of their company, maybe they'll start to publish music artists or produce movies.
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/technology/amazon-rewrites-the-rules-of-book-publishing.html?_r=1
Amazon is starting to publish books books on their own, they are publishing now122 different books in regular and e-book form. They hired people who have experience in that field to work for them, in short, amazon is becoming a all-in-one place for book buying, selling and publishing.
The stakeholders are authors and other publishing companies, authors now have a choice to publish with amazon and in short, cut out the middle man which was publishing companies. Publishers are scared because amazon is now going to try and take over the publishing business now also.
The area of impact affected is Business and Employment, because this is strictly for business. Amazon is doing this to make more money since if they publish their own books than they would be cutting out the middleman which was the publishing companies, it also affects employment because since they started a publishing section of amazon, they have to employ more people to work on that section of the company.
Future changes that might occur is that amazon will slowly start to do more and more so that they cut out middlemen for all sections of their company, maybe they'll start to publish music artists or produce movies.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Warmup: "Diebold voting machines can be hacked by remote control"
Summary of the article: There is a new way to hack voting machines that will be used in 2012 for elections which is disturbing, but even more disturbing is the fact that it can be hacked in a way that leaves no trace behind, and only costs a mere $10.50 worth of equipment to do it and the knowledge in the field of science that even kids as young as 8th grade learn.
The stakeholders are everybody in America, because if the system used to choose our leaders can be manipulated, it could lead to, in a worst case scenario, get a candidate elected that wouldn't have been elected otherwise, and if that said candidate was maybe viewed as un-qualified or un-worthy to be president, it could put our whole country at risk.
The area that it would impact would be all of them, because candidates each have different views on each of these areas and depending on who would be elected, some areas might be helped more than it usually would or some areas would lose needed funding or help.
The advantage is that voting machines make vote tallying easier to add up and more organized. Disadvantage is that they can, as you can see here, be manipulated.
A solution to the issue at hand simply would be to design new voting machines and/or different programs for them that cannot be hacked as easily, or they could do hand balloting, but the disadvantage to that is that it would take much, much longer to tally up all votes in all states.
The stakeholders are everybody in America, because if the system used to choose our leaders can be manipulated, it could lead to, in a worst case scenario, get a candidate elected that wouldn't have been elected otherwise, and if that said candidate was maybe viewed as un-qualified or un-worthy to be president, it could put our whole country at risk.
The area that it would impact would be all of them, because candidates each have different views on each of these areas and depending on who would be elected, some areas might be helped more than it usually would or some areas would lose needed funding or help.
The advantage is that voting machines make vote tallying easier to add up and more organized. Disadvantage is that they can, as you can see here, be manipulated.
A solution to the issue at hand simply would be to design new voting machines and/or different programs for them that cannot be hacked as easily, or they could do hand balloting, but the disadvantage to that is that it would take much, much longer to tally up all votes in all states.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Open Source: iOS
Open Source Code -> Safari
Who Maintains it -> Open source means anybody can add and/or maintain it
What it does -> Safarai is Apple's internet browser
Number of Users -> In the year of 2011, a average of 4% of all the people in America use Safari as their primary internet browser when using a computer
Who Maintains it -> Open source means anybody can add and/or maintain it
What it does -> Safarai is Apple's internet browser
Number of Users -> In the year of 2011, a average of 4% of all the people in America use Safari as their primary internet browser when using a computer
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Homework Web 2.0
Name of Site -> Twitter
Link -> Twitter.com
- Twitter is considered Web 2.0 because it was created after 2003
- Estimated 250 Million users have Twitter accounts
- The social significance of this website is extreme, this site allows people to get updates on news and updates on Issues in the world, their friends or even celebrities who use it
- The main social or ethical issues affected probably are Privacy and security, since once you post something everyone can see it, and just like any other website it will be out in cyberspace forever
- The areas of impact that are affected by this site are unlimited, because of what it is, which is a newsfeed from whoever you choose to follow, it can affect any of the social areas of impact depending on whose is tweeting and what they are tweeting
Link -> Twitter.com
- Twitter is considered Web 2.0 because it was created after 2003
- Estimated 250 Million users have Twitter accounts
- The social significance of this website is extreme, this site allows people to get updates on news and updates on Issues in the world, their friends or even celebrities who use it
- The main social or ethical issues affected probably are Privacy and security, since once you post something everyone can see it, and just like any other website it will be out in cyberspace forever
- The areas of impact that are affected by this site are unlimited, because of what it is, which is a newsfeed from whoever you choose to follow, it can affect any of the social areas of impact depending on whose is tweeting and what they are tweeting
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Computer Comparison Hardware Assignment
Assignment: Find a pre-built computer on a Company's website (Dell,Apple, etc.) and find the specs of it, than go to newegg.com and buy the computer piece by piece to remake the same computer, but for cheaper.
| Computer Built | IMAC 21.5 INCH | |||||||||
| PART | PRICE | PART | PRICE | |||||||
| CPU -> 2.5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 | $200 | CPU -> Identical one | ||||||||
| RAM -> Kingston Value 4GB (Two 2GB) | $24 | RAM -> 4GB (Two 2GB) 1333MHz DDR3 | ||||||||
| Graphics -> | Radeon HD 6750 1GB DDR5 | $248 | Graphics -> AMD Radeon HD 6750M 512MB GDDR5 | |||||||
| Hard Drive -> Seagate Momentus XT 500GB | 0GB $94 | Hard Drive -> | 500 GB | |||||||
| CD/DVD Burner Asus DRW DVD+ RW | $18 | CD/DVD Burner | Yes | |||||||
| Monitor -> Asus ML228H 21.5inch | $119 | Monitor-> Apple Monitor 21.5 inch | ||||||||
| Keyboard and Mouse -> HP Wireless elite | $39 | Keyboard and Mouse -> Apple Standard | ||||||||
| Total Price: | $742 | Total Price: | $1,199 | |||||||
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Warmup 9/21/11
Title of Article : Iphone 5 to be released October 4th
Link: http://www.woi-tv.com/story/15514498/apple-to-debut-iphone-5-on-october-4-report
Synopsis: Apple has finally unveiled the Iphone 5 and it's release date (October 4th)
Stakeholders: Apple Inc. and everybody whose been waiting for the release date so that they can purchase the Iphone 5
Not really any big ethical issues involved, but this is huge socially. Iphones are one of the most popular phones on the market in today's society, and with people having been waiting to get any information on the Iphone 5 for months now, this announcement is definitely a big deal.
Area of impact is Business and employment because this will generate a huge amount of money for Apple once the Iphone 5 goes on sale to the public, and it is also impacts Entertainment & Leisure because of what many people do with their Iphones, such as play games or go on facebook.
This affects me since I have a Iphone 3GS and I have been debating whether or not to upgrade to the Iphone 4, but now that I have seen this article I now have to decide and weigh the option if I want to wait another few weeks and spend a little extra money to purchase the Iphone 5.
Link: http://www.woi-tv.com/story/15514498/apple-to-debut-iphone-5-on-october-4-report
Synopsis: Apple has finally unveiled the Iphone 5 and it's release date (October 4th)
Stakeholders: Apple Inc. and everybody whose been waiting for the release date so that they can purchase the Iphone 5
Not really any big ethical issues involved, but this is huge socially. Iphones are one of the most popular phones on the market in today's society, and with people having been waiting to get any information on the Iphone 5 for months now, this announcement is definitely a big deal.
Area of impact is Business and employment because this will generate a huge amount of money for Apple once the Iphone 5 goes on sale to the public, and it is also impacts Entertainment & Leisure because of what many people do with their Iphones, such as play games or go on facebook.
This affects me since I have a Iphone 3GS and I have been debating whether or not to upgrade to the Iphone 4, but now that I have seen this article I now have to decide and weigh the option if I want to wait another few weeks and spend a little extra money to purchase the Iphone 5.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Warmup 9/13/11
Title: Judge forces employers to rehire workers who vented on facebook
Link to Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/09/07/judge-forces-employer-to-rehire-workers-who-vented-on-facebook/
Synopsis: A Judge in New York has forced a Non-profit organization to rehire five employees who had been fired after posting complaints about the organization on their personal facebooks.
Employees who frequently social network probably have the most interest in this, because there have been many employees over the past few years that have maybe lost their jobs or been reprimanded because of something that showed up on their facebook profile or any other social networking site they may use. So by these people not getting fired after complaining about their jobs through a post on facebook, it might make others feel better about not having too worry about everything you post on facebook being maybe a reason for you too lose your job.
When it comes to social or ethical issues on this matter, I feel like it is un-ethical for people to lose their jobs over something posted on facebook. People are hired because of their qualifications and their ability to perform a certain job, and if they are doing that job the way it is supposed to be done, something on their facebook shouldn't cause them too lose their job.
I think this effects two areas of impact - Business and Employment but also Art, Entertainment and Leisure. The reasons it affects both is because people are using facebook for entertainment and leisure, but if they post the wrong thing or the wrong person sees it, than that will affect their Business and employment, with the worst case scenario being that they lose their job.
Personally, I don't feel like it affects me yet. Since I am in school still and don't have a business career yet I can't relate exactly to the situation of having to use descretion when posting on facebook. But I think that it could be related to the situation if colleges were too decline me from their school because of a facebook post they saw.
Link to Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2011/09/07/judge-forces-employer-to-rehire-workers-who-vented-on-facebook/
Synopsis: A Judge in New York has forced a Non-profit organization to rehire five employees who had been fired after posting complaints about the organization on their personal facebooks.
Employees who frequently social network probably have the most interest in this, because there have been many employees over the past few years that have maybe lost their jobs or been reprimanded because of something that showed up on their facebook profile or any other social networking site they may use. So by these people not getting fired after complaining about their jobs through a post on facebook, it might make others feel better about not having too worry about everything you post on facebook being maybe a reason for you too lose your job.
When it comes to social or ethical issues on this matter, I feel like it is un-ethical for people to lose their jobs over something posted on facebook. People are hired because of their qualifications and their ability to perform a certain job, and if they are doing that job the way it is supposed to be done, something on their facebook shouldn't cause them too lose their job.
I think this effects two areas of impact - Business and Employment but also Art, Entertainment and Leisure. The reasons it affects both is because people are using facebook for entertainment and leisure, but if they post the wrong thing or the wrong person sees it, than that will affect their Business and employment, with the worst case scenario being that they lose their job.
Personally, I don't feel like it affects me yet. Since I am in school still and don't have a business career yet I can't relate exactly to the situation of having to use descretion when posting on facebook. But I think that it could be related to the situation if colleges were too decline me from their school because of a facebook post they saw.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Did You Know 4.0
- What 3 things surprise you?
- What questions come to your mind?
- What do you think the world will be like 5 years from now? 10? 20?
- What kind of effects do you think that this will have on people?
1: The 3 most surprising things In my opinion would have to be the facts about the amount of adults that have cell phone use, the small number of views that all the major news stations have compared to Youtube, Twitter and other social sites and the number of TVs that are in bathrooms.
2: Why were people getting information on the Iranian election through Twitter and not from real news sources like the evening news or newspapers?
3: In 5 years I don't think that much will change, technology will probably advance so that it is able to hold more information even while the devices that hold information keep getting smaller and smaller. In 20 years I think that most technology we use today will be considered ancient, everything will be green and as enviromentally friendly as possible.
4: I think people will adapt to new technology as it advances,but I think the biggest effect on people will be the advances in medicine in the next 5, 10 and 20 years. There will always be new medications coming out that will be more effective and with less side effects that will help cure things like cancer or diseases that we cannot cure now.
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