Raised by Video Games (Small Post #7)

Growing up I was addicted to Runescape. I played countless hours and my character reached levels impressive to my online virtual society. Many people probably view time spent on such addictions as a terrible waste of time, but through playing I learned valuable skills. This achievement can be credited to my parents who strictly limited my time playing the game. This forced me to manage my time. I would constantly seek the most efficient way to make money or gain experience points to remain competitive. I also learned several lessons of economics and thoroughly understood how they worked. Thanks to Runscape I became defensive against scams at a young age which I now see used in the real world. Without parental supervision Runescape may have been detrimental, but with time restraints it enhanced my life.

Position vlog

Genius Killed by Knowledge (Book-Inspired Post #2)

I thought I had a stroke of genius. At work we were asked to create a translation application for smartphones that could assist the volunteers at the Olympics. The idea was to provide grammatically correct translations that a computer, such as Google Translate, could not provide. At first we prepared 7000 common phrases and had volunteers translate each phrase to their native languages. Instantly I saw the limitation, but at first was not sure how to overcome them. The first solution I had was to show both Google’s translation and the translation by the native speaker if there was one. This would work well because it would display the correct translation for each phrase the volunteers had done and show a sometimes correct Google translation for the others. Then I had my supposed stroke of genius, allow the users to help generate the applications content.

The application could allow the users to confirm that Google’s translation was correct, correct Google’s translation, correct other user’s translations, and rate other user’s translations. This would allow the application give the user many more correct translations, providing the users supplied their input. This seemed genius to me until I read Here Comes Everybody and realized that users must have some motive to contribute. The plan for the application is to release it free to the public with a time bomb to disable the application at the close of the Olympics, and after that charge for subscriptions to the application. Before I could imagine users willingly contributing their knowledge to help the whole community of users, but now I imagine a hesitance in the users to contribute knowing that an organization will profit from their volunteered work.

           

Confidence (Small Post #6)

I programmed simple computer games as a kid, I learned to program my graphing calculator in high school, and now I am about to finish my junior year studying computer science at BYU, but I still have fears I will be unable to finish programming assignments. Computer Science assignments are usually all or nothing. Either the student finishes the project and receives an A or doesn’t and fails. To make things worse, one bug not foreseen can cause several unplanned hours of debugging. Several hours of debugging can take place without any progress, and the programmer must have the confidence in themself to keep working by believing they will find the bug. For every assignment I have to allocate sufficient time in my schedule such that I will have full confidence I will finish my assigned project, but when I am short on time I have to rely on the confidence I have built up by solving hundreds of previous problems. It is not surprising that a lack of confidence to succeed is a reason people choose not to major in Computer Science.

The Church and Technology (Small Post #5)

The only way for an organization to survive is to continue to adapt to the world around it. The Church is no different. Although the core doctrine of the Church will never change, the way the doctrine is taught and shared must adjust as the world changes. The organization of the Church can benefit from advances in technology by using new innovations to decrease time spent on mundane tasks. The Church must also use technology because the adversary uses it for his purposes, and the Church must be on the same front to stop him. If the Church does not use technology it would struggle to carry on its great work.

Great Artists Steal (Small Post #4)

"Good artists borrow, great artists steal." Although creating software is not technically art, it takes a creative mind to make innovative programs.  Most ideas programmers use are not new. They blend ordinary ideas to create unique software. The product itself is the masterpiece, not its common parts separately. It is ridiculous that companies own patents to the building blocks of software. It is like an art company that owns the patent to a color and requires other artists to pay royalties to use it. The novelty is not the discovery of the color, but rather the complete painting. Programmers should be able to freely steal the parts that compose programs, and have their masterpieces, not the parts, protected from being borrowed without permission.

Release Early and Often (Small Post #3)

By the time I had heard about the BYU Mobile App Competition I had missed the registration deadline by a day, but I was still permitted to compete. The registration deadline was also the first day applications could be published. A principle from Eric Steven Raymond’s article enabled me to be successful despite the time constraint. “Release early. Release often. And listen to your customers.” This was essential to my success. Two weeks after the start date I released a very basic beta version of my application (Cat Bird and Worms). Every change I made was published as an update and the feedback of the users directed my programming. Although the final product of the application was still basic it had became an addicting game with a large user base. Releasing early and often, while listening to user feedback, allowed my simple application to become a winning one.

Hacking at My Fingertips (Book-Inspired Post #1)

This last summer I created and published a simple Android application called “Picture Sender.” The application is simple to use. The users are asked to enter a “to” email address, their email address, and their password. With that information every time they take a picture it is sent via email. Personally I did not think the application was useful, but Android owners downloaded it. Not long after I published I realized I could have programmed it to be malicious. Easily the application could be slightly changed to send me each user’s email account and password without their knowledge. I first thought this was pretty cool, but then I was scared of the damage I could do. Of course I did not update the application to do this. My integrity didn’t let this go beyond a simple thought, and besides is an email address and password worth anything? This experience forced me to realize any information I entered into an application with internet permissions could be sent anywhere.

After reading The Cuckoo’s Egg I couldn’t help but reflect back on the security risk of using my application. One wise user saw the security risk of my application and left a comment mentioning the danger. To my surprise this negative review only had a minor effect on the steady number of new downloads. Today the application has received over 4000 downloads. That’s 4000 email addresses and passwords I could have in my possession. The Cuckoo’s Egg gave me a new insight of the value of an account and password. The hacker in the book spent a year repetitively trying to get users’ account information. He knew that one user name and password to one system would often give him access to other systems as well. A Google account alone has access to several other abilities including a purchasing site. If the account owner used Google checkout I could make purchases using their credit cards. I also imagine many users of my application set the same user name and password for sites like Amazon and PayPal as their email account. With this enlightenment I was again scared of the ability to steal I had stumbled upon, but I was more worried by the crimes others might do. If I had accidentally set myself up to steal thousands of dollars there could be criminals out there that purposely set themselves in positions to acquire our information to steal our money.

Necessity of User Contributions (Small Post #2)

Websites that allow the users to improve and create its content are the great successes stories of the internet. Wikipedia is a prime example, but thousands of other sites use this technology to allow users to share information, promote ideas, and sell products worldwide. It is no surprise that family history went the same direction. This new technology not only allows FamilySearch to provide the user with more information, but the user is motivated to use the site regularly as they realize their ability to contribute. As family history becomes easier to use to work of saving the dead will grow rapidly as the users grasp their potential to help out.

Tweets for Speed and News for Facts (Current Event #3)

News has improved as the means to distribute it have accelerated, but now news can be shared faster than it can be verified. Nearly all current events are announced on twitter or Facebook before any major news line releases their articles. Although many false stories are broadcasted, some news companies have tried to compete by releasing everything they get a whisper of, and then correct it when they have the facts. Many users may go to their site for quick information, but will lose this support when they report incorrectly and are marked unreliable. To maintain their validity news companies must only publish what they can back up and leave it to the gossipers of twitter and Facebook to make the first announcement.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/13/tech/social-media/twitter-not-always-right/index.html

Current Event #2

Once we load something onto the internet is it ours? People believe that pictures and videos found on the internet are fair game to download and share with whoever they wish. Although this goes against copyright laws people generally take this opinion, until it’s their own personal pictures or videos. The ease of sharing electronic data makes it seem harmless to download a pirated video to a computer, post a picture from Google on a blog, or upload a song to your website. It becomes more confusing when many sites offer free videos, pictures, and music that are perfectly legal to use and distribute. Although Facebook states that the user retains all the rights to their images there are only the unenforced copyright laws keeping a friend from downloading pictures to their computer and uploading them where they please. The lack of copyright enforcement necessitates the need to be careful what we share on the internet.

http://mashable.com/2012/02/06/deleted-facebook-pictures-still-exist/

Current Event #1

Internet + Copyright = Many Questions & Few Answers

How can copyright laws be enforced on the internet? The answer for Megaupload.com was simple: sensor it and arrest Kim Dotcom. Shut down the illegal site and arrest the guy responsible seems like the solution. So why is SOPA, the new piracy act, being proposed? Because things are not as simple as they may seem. What is an illegal site? Any site that contains copyrighted material? If so, any site that displays an image the creator did not give permission for is illegal. If those are blocked then half the internet is gone. What to do seems so clear when someone is making millions off pirated videos, but where should the line be drawn?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/01/25/kim-dotcoms-megaloot/

Small Post #1

As technology advances we have to be increasingly aware of its effects on society. Through history new inventions have continually made our world a better place. The danger of new technology has always been present, but it continues to move forward.  Many have tried to stop new inventions, but were trampled. The dangers of the new rather than being halted have been checked by each individual as they are presented to their community or family. It has been combated with restrictions and new inventions. In the past it was the educated, skilled, and wealthy that used to new technology and therefore decided if and how it was used. The farmer with land was the first to use the plow, and the wealthy business man that invested in the printing press. Perhaps the greatest difference today is the people using the technology. Today it is no longer the adults that are the first or main users of the new equipment. Teenagers can do more on their phones than their parents can do on a computer. Parents are often clueless on how to use the newest gadget while their kids are masters. Now that technology does not have the check of an adult, will what passes as acceptable continue to make our world better?

CS 404 First Post

I set up a blog