Would i ever get a chip?

I found it astounding to think that in some years to come that things will be automatically done for us, without us telling people what to do (starbucks example). i also find it a little creepy that people will be able to automatically view our bank accounts. I can say that i am one of those poeple who get money off my atm card, to ensure i know how much im spending and how much i have left. Otherwise i find i overbuy and im broke!!but i do agree with Erika that for health issues it would be fantastic. That way from birth your blood type etc would all be on this chip. And it would update your health status everytime you enter a hospital. For example it could update health problems so if you go into hospital, the staff just scan you for quick and efficent results. I do think there are more cons than pros though. For example Erika stated last week that boys from Norway were creating and changing id tags so they could buy cheap computers. I think information on creating and altering id tags shouldnt be avaliable as these people are the ones that would ruin this great inovation. I though of another good idea (As long as people dont interfere with id tags) is that everytime you enter a country you would get your id tag swiped. whether its was going past the boarder of a state or country or an airport, this would ensure the airport ran efficiently and busy american airports wouldnt constantly be held up due to retina and finger print scans. But getting to my main point, once you were scanned it would come up with your name, country etc, and criminals on the run either by car or plane, would be caught faster due to their id tag would be located almost instantly. but ultimatly i feel more research would have to be done in order for me to agree to being chipped. This is similar to last weeks blogs, the way i see it, the chips benefits would need to significantly outway the cons in order for me to consider getting chipped.

How cheap and useful would a product have to be in order for me to buy it?

How cheap and useful would a product have to be in order for me to buy it?
i feel an answer to this question is short and simple. In this case i will use the iphone as an example. Ok so if i had an old brick cell phone, a fat disorganised diary or organiser, a portable cd player and was wanting access to the internet when i am on the go, than ofcourse i would be looking for an item of technology that could put all of this into one small portable device. In this case my technology is shot and i really need an updated version. So i would look at the iphone, tick all the boxes etc. But before buying i would look at reviews, just to see how relieable or unreliable the product really is. There is no point in spending bags of cash on something that is going to die on me straight after i buy it. But it would also have to have a reasonable price tag, i would once again to research on pricing options, if i feel the offer being showed to me is way to high, than i would wait for another offer. I suppose it also depends how much you really need this product, if it isnt needed in the near future that wait until you need it. Usually you find when you wait you will catch it in a sale and possibly got a couple of hundred dollars off it. So what im saying is i wouldnt make any hasty decisions, id do my research, see how much i really needed it, and evaluate my results:)

Week 10

So i havent exactly kept a log as such but i have a pretty good idea of how much technology i use everyday. Im on my laptop atleast once a day, i check my phone every 10 minutes, my tv will be one from 530pm onwards and my radio is on every morning. How on earth would i love without tachnology?It seems as if i use technology pretty frequently but im sure this is probably the norm for many other poeple. therefore i think i would be somewhat midway on the continuem. But when you compare my daily usage to a third world country i would say im extrememly high on the technology usage continuiem. I think it depends whether or not we have access or the technology to use. I see it that we are extremely lucky individuals. Secondly i found our last lecture really interesting. I had heard of this one laptop per child scheme, but i had never really thought that deeply into the subject. I never thought of food being far more of an essential to a laptop. Obviously food and water is a neccessity in developing countries, but i also see education to be an equally important matter. In conlusion i feel they are equally important and they should grab whatever they can, whether its food, water or education.

Coms 205 tutorial, surviellance: positive or negative

This was a really great tut, just because i am doing my essay on surviellance and i had a bit of back round knowledge and research that i had done, there proved to be many talking points and points of view!I never realised how much surviellance is in the world, but when we discussed different aspects of it, it kind of gives u a reality check. I think our generation has somewhat grown up in a survillance generation and we are used to it, and most importantly we are aware.....of most of it. I bought up the point as to why ECHELON cannot capture osama bin laden but they are able to moniter other criminals, is ECHELON as good as we think. I think the concept of it is great because no one knows keywords they monitor etc, so we are really all left in the dark. For my essay tho i have tried to come up with alternatives to surviellance on the internet. as i said i think ECHELON is a good idea but i think we need something like a worldwide agreement that states clear outlines as to what can and cant be done, but i also think it needs a sense of mysteriousness about it, eg no one knowing keywords they moniter etc. it will be an extrememly hard contract for everyone to agree to but there really seems no other way, unless surviellance is done without anyone really knowing. But that would make me angry and would fall in the category of unacceptable surviellance.

copywrite, sorry this one is a wee bit late

i found this lecture quite interesting as i never knew that for copywrite to be enforced properly, that the creator had to chase down copywriters that were using there work without permission. i think it makes the whole copywrite thing quite confusing when you refer to downloaded music! the interent these days is far to big to have anything protected, nothing is private, so how is it possible for one person to chase down thousands or millions of people using their idea? i feel this idea also refers to wikipedia where everyday people copy and paste work without looking at copywrite etc. i think creative commons is a great alternative to copywrite, as it allows authors to distinguish how people are able to use their work (which is kind of a compromise), instead of enforcing strict rules.

Surviellance

Ahh iv been waiting so long for this topic to come up, as this is the question that i am doing for my essay!!since iv already done my research i came into todays lecture thinking, we definitly need surviellance when we are online, because it seems only bad things happen on the interent, and i think these badies have kind of ruined it for internet users like us who use it fully for recreational purposes. But todays lecture broadened my horizons on surviellance, as i never really thought about workplace and music surviellance, although it is such a common occurance in todays society. Because when i think of a need for survillance i think we need it to catch criminals that are involved in identity theft, cyber terrorism, online stalking or bullying, the makers or worms, viruses trojan horses etc. And these people i think are the ones that have turned the internet into big brother, they are the trouble makers that no dont allow people reading there emails to have any privacy whatsoever.
So when erica brought up ECHELON and CARNIVORE it really grabbed my attention, as it was something i had never heard of or thought about. I did a quick search on ECHELON and this was what i found: ECHELONECHELON is a term associated with a global network of computers that automatically search through millions of intercepted messages for pre-programmed keywords or fax, telex and e-mail addresses. Every word of every message in the frequencies and channels selected at a station is automatically searched. The processors in the network are known as the ECHELON Dictionaries. ECHELON connects all these computers and allows the individual stations to function as distributed elements an integrated system. An ECHELON station's Dictionary contains not only its parent agency's chosen keywords, but also lists for each of the other four agencies in the UKUSA system [NSA, GCHQ, DSD, GCSB and CSE] .
Now as i said i had never heard of this but i think in order for the internet to run smoothly i think we need a worldwide ECHELON, with specific laws that they and us computer users must abide, these laws also ave to be flexible and not too strict, but strict enough to catch criminals. As erica said this plan has worked so far, it has enabled security forces to catch terrorists before planning attacks, so i feel if it can do this than it should be able to catch any other criminal. I realise it is more than likely that countries will disagree on some terms, but i like to think it could work. But i think until internet security catches up than the internet will continue to be filled with criminals breaking the law.

Blog Week 7: MMORPG, virtual worlds and augmented reality

I never realized how intense online computer gaming was! Nor did I realize you could become a millionaire by selling virtual properties online. I find it absurd that people waste money on a life that doesn’t really exist, and on things that don’t really exist or that they need. I think it’s cool that the internet can allow you to be whoever you wish, but a fake identity can only go so far, especially in the dating world. In the readings Michael Hardey discussed online and offline relationships, basing his essay on dating websites. So I reinforce my point that a made p identity can only be used for such a time, as if you wish to meet someone and your identity is opposite to what you describe, it is highly likely that person you meet up with will want nothing to do with you. Personally I would never embark on internet dating, I think it is for people that are unsocial and who don’t go out there and meet someone like everyone else. Although I think Hardey made a good point by saying that the internet provides a medium and it in many cases is a far more effective tool as opposed to newspaper advertisement dating. This is because more can written and described, and communication between the two is far easier. I then come back to the issue of money being spent over the internet when it really doesn’t need to be. For example some sites make you pay to contact people, wouldn’t it just be easier to go up and talk to someone that you liked. Not only would this be more social but it would boost ones confidence. Another reason I wouldn’t embark on internet dating is because there are so many people that aren’t what the say at all. For example on Oprah, there were three women that were ‘dating’ a guy they met on a website. He provided them with a picture and he made telephone calls to them on a regular basis. He made out he was living in Africa when in fact he was situated somewhere in the USA. The women fell in love with this ‘person’. This man got the ladies to put money in his bank account so he could try and ‘get out of Africa’ so he could then start a life with these women. After money was submitted into his bank account, the man disconnected his phone line and the women never heard from him again. All of these women were tricked by the same man, were stolen of money and left in the lurch. I think you have to be an idiot to put a large sum of money into ones bank account that you have never met, but im hoping for their sake it is a lesson learnt. But who am I to judge, this type of communication obviously benefits some people that are too busy for dating in their spare time, but I reinforce I think it is slightly weird and creepy to have thousands if not millions of users on the internet with fake identities. Its not normal and I feel in th dating world it is no way to fine ‘true love!!”

Week 6

Hey guys
How did everyone find todays lecture? I found it ok, history etc isnt really something that reaches out and grabs my attention but i think what made the lecture interesting was the small amount of time it has taken for blogs to take off. I also ofund it interesting the way in which there are class and how different blogs work. Iv just done some research on the whole political blogging business. Iv found a political editor from the herald posts blogs about what is happening in parliament (not something i wish to read!!) I also found big organizations such as abc news (political punch) and the new york times, post political blogs to keep the world in touch with national or international political news. Another example of political blogging i thought could be found is in the way john key has made a facebook website. H followed in the footsteps of kevin rudd who won australias most recent election, Rudd also had a social networking profile. Its very interesting the lengths that some politians wil go to, to reach a certain audience. But in all seriousness just because Key has a facebook site, doesnt mean ill look on him more favourably. It sounds a bit desperate in my book, but it worked for Kevin Rudd so who am i to judge. Im happy to say iv made quite the start on my essay, i have a ridiculous amount of information to go through!i suppose the more the better tho. the good thing is im finding my topic really interesting, and one topic im writing about has recently poped up into the news!! Iv just really started surfing other peoples blogs and maknig comments, if you havent done so already you must try it, you may learn a thing or to (i know i certinly did), plus you also get a view on other peoples ideas and reasons for certain things.
Anywho thanks for reading:)

Week 5 Blog (intertwined with week 4 and my holiday experience!)

Ah i cant believe how stressful and out of the loop i felt when i had no internet for the holidays (although i really suppose that what holidays is all about, getting away etc). I did do the readings over my holiday,and i got the feeling Holmes ideas were somewhat relevant to my holiday experience and todays lecture. He stated that computer mediated communication networks and virtual realities are environments rather than just technology, and that the interent has changed how we commmunicate with one another and that we are not affected by boundries, distance or time. This i suppose in a small way relates to my holiday experience, without internet! i mean i generally use internet to check emails etc, yet i also use it for up to date news etc. and i cant say the radio has great reception in akaroa (where i went) so i was either up to date by the paper or 6pm news. this was really the only way i was to get up to date information, and this only occured twice a day, so i was feeling somewhat out of the loop!i was also leaving my poor unopened emails for days, leaving people a little in the lurch if they needed an imediate answer! It also relates to (the whole being able to communicate with anyone, anywhere, anytime)what we talked about in todays lecture. For the fact that web 2.0 has allowed us communicate with each other as opposed to 1.0 where it was oneway communication.
Last weeks lectures really made me understand what a virtual community was (at first it all seemed a little broad), yet from what i understand, our blogging system is a virtual community, and for the fact that it is public, anyone with internet access can also view our blogs (unless your profile is private). I kinda never thought about it, just for the fact we can all read and generally understand everyday jargon. But say people that live on the other side of the world, who maybe have english as a second language or even as a first, they may not understand what we are talking about due to the informality of our blogs and the amount of jargon and everyday language we use. Something i never thought of yet i found it quite interesting!!
This has been quite a topsy tervy little blog, but i really thought i should type something up before the cut off date. will have to write something a little more structured for later in the week!

Blog Week 3

Hey guys
so...i havent been at the lectures this week cause i am at home which is kinda cool, but i have to say it pays to go to the lectures as i think u get more out of them, as opposed to what is just put on blackboard. although blackboard is a big help if you do miss the lecture!!was just wondering, what were the questions that were posted for thurdsday?were they just questions for discussion bought up on thursday??will get onto this weeks readings over the easter holiday... while im away on holiday!!(puts a wee bit of a dampner on things!!jks)
anywho i only have a short blog this week, due to that fact i wasnt at the lecture and i dont really have to much to discuss about it!!but il be sure to post again on hopefully tuesday...or definitly wednesday re the readings. i would do it earlier but i have no trusty internet with me:(
c u all next week:)

Week 3 Readings

So iv just read the Douglas Thomas reading...very interesting. got me thinking about all sorts of computer felonies. I read that the law has much difficulty dealing with hackers, and that hackers continually have new ways to break the law or work around it. I think that as long as technology continues to advance, that hackers will also continue to advance, as it seems they seem to generally have a pretty good knowledge of what is new in the computer world. It then got me thinking about worms and viruses, which from what i know infect peoples computers, look at the personal information and can use peoples phone lines without people knowing (i have another story to tell soon about hackers...haha i dont seem to have to much ,luck with them!!).So these people that create worms and viruses are technically hackers...correct? its just that they do it on a much larger scale than what happened to laurens sister, when a person from her school hacked into their bebo account. i found it all very interesting. Anywho, on our old computer (which we were very irresponsible with as we didnt have up to date virus protetion!!) we had viruses and mum discovered on our phone bill that there were calls made to the middle east. so they had been using our phoneline to contact people they knew. Mum complained to telecom which said that would erase the calls made to the middle east, and they put a toll bar on our phone, so no more calls to the middle east!!!!i just find it amazing how one virus can create so much damage. as it turned out, the same thing had happened to my dads work colleague, calls made to the middle east on his phone bill etc. I think this reinforces how impartant internet security is as i recall an incident last year where a bank emailed people asking them for their username and password for their internet banking....turns out that wasnt such a good idea to fill out as the form wasnt actually sent out by the bank...it was sent out by a hacker!
Sorry to blabber on, as i was going to bring this up in the tutorial tommorow but what do the poeple that run limewire come under...fraud..?
anywho, just thought id spin a few ideas. feel free to comment!!

Sophies 2nd Blog

Wow this semester is already going so quickly, i cant believe we are already in our third week. We have just finished our Wednesday lecture and I found it so interesting. I'm sure some other people don't find the whole computer thing all that interesting, but last year i was originally majoring in computer science...the first semester was interesting because the computer paper was mixed with a business paper so it wasn't too full on. But the second semester was incredibly off putting as I was pretty much thrown in the deep end, and was literally expected to know everything about coding etc. So it has been a real pleasant surprise to come into this paper, learning things about the communications of computers, which i personally find far more interesting as opposed to the putting together of computer codes!!!I found the hacking thing very interesting, as it is something we generally all know about but we don't really have any general knowledge on, so it was good to get a little inside view. The reason i find it interesting is due to that fact that when i was a little pre-teen, and all of my friends were in the stage of 'msn', i found one day i was unable to get into my account...someone had hacked into my account and changed my password!!!but my friend knew someone who could hack back into my hacked account, so i could therefore get back into my account (if the makes any sense...). He was able to hack back into my account apparently within 10-15 minutes or so, and i got my msn/hotmail back. And i wonder how on earth.. (or why they would want to hack into a 12 year olds msn/hotmail account) it is they can trick the system.
So...learning about the hacking for me was very interesting, just because i had experienced it before. And at the age i wouldn't be surprised if the stereotype geeky boy would be locked away in his dark room..hacking into MY account!I also found it interesting that hacking didn't start off as being malicious, as that is what first pops into our head when we thing of hackers. Haven't yet read this weeks readings but Im sure ill get onto that sometime today!!
thanks for reading:)

how do you add people to your profile so you can view there blogs??

ha i told you i would be asking questions!!pretty much the question is in the title. can someone please tell me how i add people to my profile so i can access other class members profiles from clicking a button on my profile. anyones help would be great!!
Thanks

Sophies first blog:)

Hey guys
For you that dont know me, i will tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Sophie, im a proud cantabrian, am in my second year of uni, and im majoring in english and communications. So far im finding coms205 really intersting, although the 9am starts can sometime disagree with me!i think our essay topic are pretty cool, still havent decided on one, but am wanting to make a start on it soon!!i have one question if anyone can please answer it for me....i have just purchased my course reader and i was wondering what page for the readings we are up to..?
This blogger thing isnt to bad, but for the past week it hasnt let me sign in, but it miracuously just worked so lucky me. havent foiund the course too confusing yet, but if anyone has any questions about the course dont hesitate to ask me because im sure il be asking you guys lots of questions to!!
Well thats it for my first blog...that wasnt too hard haha.
Thanks for reading!!
sophie:)