Our Biggest Weapon Against Pornography

http://combatingpornography.org/cp/eng/

Book Post 2

One of the points covered in Here Comes Everybody is the fact that teens who would regularly have a conversation socially, now spend that time talking over the internet. This has been the topic of many articles and news reports. Talking over the internet however, is inherently different from talking over the net. From personal experience and from talking to other people I know that some conversations that are held online would not have occurred in a social environment. Conversations which sometimes occur with people who you would not regularly interact with anyway. They are different ways of communicating and therefore not replacements for one another. The time people spend on computers is usually a replacement for other types of entertainment like watching television and reading. One could even argue that the internet has helped people express themselves in ways they couldn't before, an example being blogging. This issue is not black and white as portrayed in the book.

Women and Computer Science

Its frequently pointed out that women are not attracted to majors like computer science. Several studies have been done to find answers as to why this major is not attractive to women. I have always wondered if maybe we are asking the wrong question. It was not until recently that women started to form a larger part of the academic graduate field. The numbers continue to grow but compared to men, women still have less time in any academic field in general. It took a large generation of engineers to begin the generation of computer scientists. Is it possible then that a similar female generation has to exist before a large generation of female computer scientists? I think that with time we will see an increase in women in fields like computer science.

Technology and the Gospel

Technology, or anything for that matter that is introduced into a society, will have both a positive and a negative impact. Computers for example can be used to learn about the gospel but can also be used for other purposes like pornography. It is our duty as church members to distinguish these sides and use technology as best we can so that the benefits of using such technologies will overshadow the negative uses them. As computer programers, this duty lies largely on us as technology today is spread through computers. We should follow the example of Brother Calderon and try to identify the places we could use to bring people to the gospel, and exploit them.

The Hollywood Consipiracy

Stories about how companies steal from producers through copyright laws and regulations are not something new. We always hear about Hollywood conspiracies to steal material and “slave” anyone who produced something that is worth selling. Hollywood and companies like Hollywood do make millions of dollars out of copyrighted material, but they also provided services which are valuable to original authors which they would probably not be able to do themselves. Companies like Hollywood are responsible for many of the anti piracy movements which are in effect today. Individual authors would not be able to take action against the millions of people who use their work without paying for it. Companies like Hollywood in this case can and will take action against them. Companies like Hollywood are also responsible for distributing the goods they produce. Individual authors would have a hard time trying to distribute their ideas and products around the globe if companies like Hollywood wouldn’t distribute these goods for them. Hollywood and companies like Hollywood are not entirely the blood sucking monsters some people portray them to be.

Ideas

Great ideas come in many flavors and it is important to be able to recognize certain symptoms which in many cases accompany them. As Raymond put it, “Every good work of software starts by scratching a developer's personal itch.” This idea can however be taken beyond the realm of software and applied to any field, it is not an idea that is true about software development alone. A second symptom of a great idea is when this idea is presented to a group of experts on the subject and the idea is not completely refuted but instead criticized and possible modified. Experts will not lose time in an idea which is a dead end or is a “shiny object.” Connected with this idea is the fact that one has to be prepared to receive criticism and filter the good suggestions from the bad. It is also important to never be discouraged when you think you have a good idea and it turns out to be a shiny object. Good ideas take time and sometimes a stroke of luck to find.

Book Post

The consequences of our actions will always have an effect on the people around us. It is important to always keep this in mind as we take decisions in life so that our lives a positive effect. Having this effect on someone could potentially save their life depending on the situation. On the other hand making wrong choices could potentially harm people we never intended to wrong. It is not always easy to see which decision will have these effects because life is not always black and white but is generally a shade of gray instead. In these cases it is better to seek guidance and turn towards the scriptures. One of my favorite bible verses on making choices comes from Proverbs 3:5-6; Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight.

Baidu the new Google?

http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/13/technology/thebuzz/index.htm

Software companies have to always be able to adapt to their market and change when the client expects it. The reason why Baidu is increasingly growing and projecting larger values than Google is because they have adapted to the requests by the Chinese government. Google is by far a better search engine and the company should be looking for ways to adapt its product and launch it in China’s rising economy. Sometimes its a necessity to change a companies policies in order to survive and expand.

Importance of Testing Software

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/06/tech/social-media/deleted-facebook-photos-online/index.html

As future and current developers of the software industry we must always be aware of the kinds of problems that our software can cause when we overlook certain details. Facebook in this article for example could face serious lawsuits if pictures which were deleted for privacy issues can still be accessed by the public. Not to mention the amount of money which will be spent finding and removing all of these pictures from each individual server. There are cases when releasing software before it has been thoroughly tested is a good idea but in any project should be tested before it is released.

The Other Side Of Programs.

As new and exciting computer games storm the market and demands for them grow, so do many problems that rise from them. Should we as computer programers be concerned with theses issues? There are people out there for example who will become addicted to games we may one day develop. Depending on what type of game this is, it could have a negative effect on this persons' health both physically and psychologically. How can we limit this damage or can it be avoided at all? What can we do to develop programs that will have positive effects on society? These are questions that developers should be asking themselves but are often overlooked.

http://news.yahoo.com/study-us-rapidly-becoming-nation-gamers-051408311.html

Government Abuse?

Reading over the article on the recent criminal charges raised against Kim DotCom I came to the realization that the U.S government needs to strengthen laws to protect individuals identity in the internet. Most of the investigations that took place against the owner of Mega upload were made by spy ware software introduced by the government itself. Software that could even turn on microphones and web cams connected to a computer at will. Where is the boundary drawn? At what point does an investigation become an assault on peoples lives? The U.S government should carefully revise laws which deal with these issues.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57368523-261/feds-we-obtained-megaupload-conversations-with-search-warrant/?tag=mncol;mostRead

Video Games and Today

Scenes of murder and chaos plague new channels and the media. Children dying every day from lack of food and medicine. Issues of which everyone has knowledge and yet choose to ignore every day. What can cause society, even one like our own, to become completely apathetic of the world around us? It is true that video games are at large to blame for this issues but how about Hollywood? Is it even an issue now a days or is it best to neglect the world around us? I think it is important to always remember that we are all citizens of this world and everything that happens in it should concern us. It is best to attack problems now than when these problems have reached our doorsteps.

http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_video_games_playing_with_violence

Morality

As future developers and members of a community with high moral standards, it is always important to know what our role in society is. Even though we live in a society where information is at our fingertips; information is not always good and has the potential to be harmful. Harmful not only to us but to our loved ones and our community as a whole. What is our our role, our mandate then? Is it to turn our back and let someone else deal with this issues or to be leaders of change and do actually do something? No battle that was ever worth winning was easily won and as warriors and protectors of such values we must never yield to the battle.

A day in the life of a programmer!