Excellence as a part of ethics

The word "ethical" means "morally good or correct" according to Google. Most of the time it seems that this word is only used in reference to the protection of the rights of others; i.e., discrimination by race in employee hiring is a typical "ethical" issue. While this is certainly a question of good ethics, I am of the opinion that one of the most forgotten ethical issues is that of self improvement. Companies pay us good money to create the software products that bring them life. Users count on us to build software that works how they expect it to. Isn't it morally right for us to do our part in bettering our programming skills and abilities so as to better serve our companies and our customers? If it is, then why don't we consider it unethical to not make the time and effort to improve our programming skills? I believe that we, as individuals, can begin to change this by beginning to improve our programming skills on a regular basis.

Position VLog on the Ferguson case: how social media could put the power of our justice system at risk

Ever since the Ferguson protests have started, I have been intrigued by the role that social media has played in escalating the situation. It appears that everyone and their dog who sees an opinionated statement on a social media site about the Ferguson situation automatically believes themselves to be experts. I don't claim to be an expert or to know anything about what really did or didn't happen, but I do feel that people need to be aware of the powerful influence that social media can have on political situations. This video was created to express some of my thoughts and feelings on the subject. I only had 1 minute to do it in, so if the logic that I follow is unclear, please comment below with questions and I will get back to you.

Teaching how to balance technology in life through example

Technology has begun to make up a very significant part of our lives. Since most of the technology that we have is relatively new, humanity is still struggling to learn exactly how it fits into every day life. I think that in all the excitement of our newly-created inventions we have allowed technology too much leeway into our lives. So now the question is, what can we do to turn it around? There is no simple answer to this question. However, I believe that the best influence against the overbearing onslaught of technology is the example of a parent to his or her children. What if we - as the future parents of the next generation of Americans - were to master ourselves in such a way that technology became a tool, instead of a driving life force? How would this change the way our children viewed technology from day one? Even though it would be hard for us to change our current ways, it would an investment through which future generations would be taught how to properly control technology.


https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/02/keeping-safe-and-balanced-in-a-google-youtube-twitter-facebook-ieverything-world?lang=eng

Should police forces be involved in internet?

I recently read an article depicting a sad scene: a junior high girl from Heber City, Utah, used Instagram posts to tell other students that they should commit suicide. While I do agree that this is horrible, I must admit that I was a little surprised to read that the police responded to the incident. The role of police in our society is that of protecting the peace and constitutional rights of the districts over which they preside; it is not to step into the middle of internet bullying fights between teenagers in middle school. I personally believe that getting the police involved is like using a bulldozer to move a molehill - it's overkill. So this begs the question: if not the police, then who is responsible for "policing" such events as these? Should there be some kind of an agency established whose purpose is to ensure that the internet a safe and happy place for all those who use it?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865616133/Police-investigate-cyber-bully-targeting-Heber-students-on-Instagram.html

Book Post #2: Self-investment and becoming the a top-quality job candidate

Recently, I had the opportunity to read a book called My Job Went To India, And All I Got Was This Lousy Book written by Chad Fowler. While Fowler made many wonderful suggestions, I think the clearest overarching message that he conveyed was that of protecting investments. In the business world, when a company puts ridiculous amounts of money into a new and important project, they don't do it for kicks and giggles. They do it because they expect their investment of time and talent into the project to eventually reap long lasting benefits not only now, but in the company's future. In order to make this work, they have to protect their investment - meaning, they have to put in additional effort in order to assure that their past investment will continue to serve the company in the future.

The same is true for those of us who aspire to be computer geeks and programmers. We have chosen to invest in the field of computer technology, and this is not an investment that we made lightly. First off, we have invested a considerable amount of time and money into obtaining a bachelor's degree. But just obtaining a degree is not enough - our degree, in essence, is not self protecting. Just having a degree does not automatically guarantee that we will always have a job. Instead, we have to protect the investment that we made in obtaining our bachelor's degree.

So how, one may ask, does a computer scientist protect his degree? One of the most prominent solutions that Fowler offers is that of not getting complacent. If one is complacent, they will never see the need to improve past their original CS degree. However, if one stays humble, they will soon realize that there are many ways in which they can make themselves better. They could deepen their knowledge of a coding language by exploring it's intricacies, or relearn the basic rules of English grammar so as to communicate better with their co-employees at work. Whatever it is a programmer chooses to do, it should be the thing that will most help them to protect the investment they made into their CS degree.

"Cathedrals" using "Bazaar" tactics?

As I read The Cathedral and the Bazaar by Eric Raymond, I couldn't help but wonder to myself: if the bazaar method really is so successful, why it is that large software companies still dominate the markets? It's mostly true that most people who don't either work or play in a technical field use the products of big companies. The truth is, I believe big companies are successful because they are able to put into practice the same principles that have helped open source to be so effective. Since they have large numbers of employees, they are able to generate lots of good ideas quickly. They maintain and build upon the same code base with each release, and with each release their code base is further refined, just like open source code bases are refined over time. They are able to provide effective code revision, since so many eyes see and use the same code. In this way, I can see exactly how big companies are able to stay successful by using the same principles that have given life to open source.

Effects of alienation of women from computer science

I think there is great harm with the idea in our society that computers are a man's stomping grounds. For the point of my argument, it doesn't matter why women feel alienated from computer science, it just matters that they do. A computer is a tool, and tools should not be gender-specific. Take a hammer, for example. If a society were to think that only one gender could use a hammer and think down on the other gender using it, it is then stunting the building and creative capabilities that could come from the minds of half of it's population. It is the same with computers. By continuing to allow our culture to alienate women from computers and technology, we are cutting off the bright minds of the women in our society from using computers to create, build, enlighten, expand, and otherwise make our world a better place. Why on earth would we want to do that? What can we do to unalienate women from computers in a way that they will respond positively to?

The great vice of technology

I have been thinking a lot recently about time. Time is one of our most precious resources. Since time is so precious, I feel like the way we choose to spend our time is an indication of what we consider to be most important. This is the great vice of technology: it seems to obliterate our time more than any other thing in the history of mankind. How many times have we seen someone say, "I can do that in thirty seconds with my [insert electronic device here]" and then watch as it turns into ten minutes? To me, this is very disturbing. My dream of life isn't to spend it engrossed in technology; rather, it is to spend the greatest amount of time possible with my family. Because of the importance of the family, I think that it is critical for me (and others in my situation) to develop adequate habits for technology use. These habits can provide a safety bumper which can keep us focused on what matters most even though we are faced with technology related problems and distractions every day.

Sleeping with one eye open: A reaction to The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll

There is an old adage in the English language that says that a man should sleep with one eye open. This means that, even in circumstances where a person thinks he or she is safe, he or she should always be wary of unseen or hidden danger. After all, it is always this kind of danger that comes around to hurt you the most.

While reading The Cuckoo's Egg by Cliff Stoll, I found myself evaluating my personal computer security measures. The book had clearly highlighted the principle that every human who uses an electronic device places a certain amount of trust in it. On a daily basis, we trust these devices with very detailed information from all aspects of our lives. We also trust that these devices will keep our personal information safe from harm, so that it won't be exploited by outsiders who want to cause harm. The problem isn't the fact that we choose to trust our electronic devices; rather, the problem is that we blindly trust our electronic devices. This is the equivalent of sleeping with both eyes closed.

The truth is that the world of computers and technology has never been one where people could sleep with both eyes closed. It is full of loopholes, back doors, and people with both the smarts and the malicious intent to compromise other people's private information. The only reason that people do close both eyes in regards to their electronics is because they don't realize the danger that is out there. It is my personal belief that if people were to learn more about the dangers of the world of computing, they would definitely start sleeping with one eye open, or possibly even both. As for my part, I have been woken up, and I don't believe that I will ever sleep with both eyes closed again.

Current Event Post #3 - Controversy over releasing BadUSB hacker code

The BadUSB hack creates a serious ethical dilemma for us as a society. The question is, what should be done about really powerful hacks like the one that Karsten Nohl found? The first option is to keep them completely secret. This is what Nohl intended to do at first, but it didn't work because somebody else reverse engineered his code. The second option is to make it public as soon as possible; however, this also freely gives the code to those with bad intentions. In the time that a hack is being developed, a lot of damage could be done using this hack. I personally think the best solution is to contact the major manufacturers of USB chips and make sure that they had the code without disclosing it to the world. It would be a long and arduous process of getting the code to all of them, but it would provide the greatest protection to society as a whole.

Small post 2 - Technology affecting society

In class, we have talked a lot about how technology affects society. Since technology is ever-changing, there will always be new terms that are developed to describe what new technologies do. Thus, society changes to embrace new technological terms as technology evolves. As I read the articles assigned for Tuesday, societal change to match technology really stuck out to me in the word choice of the authors. For example, the articles we had to read on family history technology ranged from 1991 to 2010. With each new article, new tech vocabulary words were used that hadn't been used in the previous articles: words like "wiki", "email", and "hyperlink". In one of the articles, it even included a glossary of terms, which explained all the computer mumbo-jumbo that had been used throughout the article. This process still continues today. As long as technology changes, society and terminology will have to change in order to keep up with it.

Current Even Post 2: Potential for drones to change America

We've all seen Star Wars, and we've all thought how cool it is to have anti-gravity levitation devices floating around. Now it appears that America has taken the first step towards something similar: According to this article, it is now legal to use drones on certain movie sets. This is a great example of a technology that could shape American culture as we know it. If allowed to press far enough, drones could do anything from our shopping to scooping dog poop. But now the question is, how much of a role do we want to let technology take in our lives? How will it affect human beings if we allow drones to take a huge roll? Fortunately, the technology is not yet cheap enough to be widely used, but it is something that is gaining popularity. We should begin to consider the potential affects of drones as we develop drone technology more.

Current Event: response to Larry Ellison stepping down as CEO of Oracle

According to CNN, Oracle founder Larry Ellison stepped down as CEO this past week. While I do not think it is very interesting that he stepped down, I think it is interesting how his success story is different than that of other successful people in the PC industry. In most success stories, there were two kinds of people: those who knew the technical side of a new computer technology, and those who knew the business side of it. However, Ellison is different because he possessed both the ability to develop a new technology and the ability to see how it was useful. According to the article, Ellison helped to create the first relational database, which shaped the way we work with computers today. Ellison is also noted to be a cunning businessman, known for his "cutthroat business strategy". These two accomplishments show that he is both a technical genius and a shrewd businessman. It is not surprising to me that someone who possesses both these traits has risen to be the fifth richest person in the world.

Stereotype fallacies about computer scientists

Over the past couple of days, we have talked a lot about the culture of the computer science world. The majority of us think of computer scientists as long bearded guys who have big glasses and sleep under their desks every night with old pizza boxes scattered about. However, what I have come to realize is that a computer scientist should be as respectable in his art as any other scientist is in theirs. They should be well-groomed, people-friendly, and professional. What would you think of a doctor who wore scrubby jeans to work? Not only would he not have very much business, his opinion wouldn't be respected by his peers, regardless of how proficient he was in his profession. As a future computer scientist, I know that I must do my part to become as professional as possible in communication, appearance, and working with people. Doing so will allow me to reach the greatest levels of potential that I can in the corporate world.