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/