Idleness: Satan's Best Friend

Playing video games is or has been a favorite activity for most students in the Computer Science program. Taking time to unwind at the end of the day to play some video game for an hour isn't all bad is it? Most people can manage and balance their lives while still scheduling an hour of television, social networking, or other digital distraction into their usual activities. But, even a person who only distracts him or herself in a controlled manner can still exhibit symptoms of an addict. When looking at your life and analyzing where you waste the most time, a good indicator of time idled away is an empty feeling afterwards. If you get done playing video games, reading random Wikipedia articles, and creeping around on Facebook, and feel that you have lost that time, this is a clear sign that change is needed. Elder Bednar put it, "Seemingly innocent entertainment can become a form of pernicious enslavement." People need to be perceptive of the time they are idling away in Satan's work.

Position Vlog

Here is a link to the article mentioned my Position Vlog: article

Here Comes Everybody to Google

I remember back in the late 90's when my family finally got dialup internet. It was amazing to be able to connect to with so many people all across the world. Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody made a great point about how the internet has changed the whole dynamic of filtering and then publishing. In the chapter entitled "Publish, Then Filter", the point was made that how the internet is used today forces our society to publish and then filter what has been published. The quality of work that we find online varies from incompetently amateur to exceptionally professional. The filter that most internet users to find new information is through Google's search engine. When I have a question my first instinct is to do a Google search to see what comes up. By doing this we are allowing the supposed better material, whether amateur or professional, to permeate through Google's search engine and onto our computer screen. Quoting from Here Comes Everbody, "It's when a technology becomes normal, then ubiquitous, and finally so pervasive as to be invisible, that the really profound changes happen" (p. 105). The technology of the internet has become so normal to us that doing a Google search has become commonplace and invisible. We need to be aware of the changes that are occurring around us as we continue to filter the massive amount of information that is available on the internet.

Females in Computer Science

During my time at BYU I have never had more than four or five females in any one Computer Science related class. As I have continued in the major that number has continued to drop until currently this semester there are a paltry two females in each of my classes. With around thirty to forty students per class, that brings the average female enrollment to between 5 and 6.5 percent. My thoughts as to why the number of females is dropping is because the label that society wants to put on them. Have you looked at a magazine cover lately? Society expects the females in our society to be skinny, attractive and well dressed. Not that you can't be a skinny, attractive, and well dressed "nerd", but it is harder to get past the nerd part. The expectations that society implicitly sets for females will continue to restrict the number new women entering into computer related studies.

Technology and the Internet

    Technology has changed all our lives for the better. Or has it? If it weren't for all of the advances in technology we would still be plowing our fields by mule or oxen and we would return home to some makeshift tent or cave dwelling. Over the history of the earth man has continually strived to improve his living conditions through innovation. The most influential invention in my lifetime would have to be the internet. On a daily basis I am able to wirelessly transfer data to and from my laptop where I can read unlimited amounts of information, or turn in a digital copy of my homework. Living in this day and age is amazing, and if you don't realize that then you need to take a look around.
    The one pervasive drawback to all of the advances in technology is the widespread access to pornography on the internet. On several occasions this year I have been shown an appropriate YouTube video in class only to be exposed to the dreaded "related videos." How is a seminar about achieving your childhood dreams any way related to an immodestly dressed Chinese girl? I am fed up with this unwanted exposure to pornographic material. Google, in all its greatness and glory, has been a downright failure in this aspect. Even when watching videos with "Safety Mode" enabled, these inappropriate videos inevitably seem to filter through. It is time that Google provided a family safe YouTube.

Let It Be Known

Copyright laws have their place in our society. Trying to remove them would be an attempt at ripping a deeply rooted law from our society. The laws have certain flaws that desperately need revision. The fastest way to amend these laws is to bring the dirt to the public. We need to unveil how much money recoding companies are making off of their enslaved artists. Only when the public realizes where our copyright laws are failing will they begin to band together in favor of a revision.

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Innovators like Linus Torvalds are impressive risk takers. When everyone else is following the flow, or riding the wave, it is socially difficult to swim against the current. Linus Torvalds wasn't afraid to take a chance by rejecting the trend of cathedral-building style and followed his own train of thought. Taking risks like this are necessary to bring about great inventions. Linus's style of open source programming was a huge step away from the cathedral style where programmers and users were corralled into distinct sectors. Allowing software users to become co-developers has opened the door to faster development and self-gratified consumers/innovators. The masses crave recognition and acceptance, and open source coding is the best way for programmers to find public avowal of admiration.

The Cuckoo's Egg

     I bet there are computer hackers attempting to breach my firewalls and steal my personal information right now. Cliff Stoll's "The Cuckoo Egg" has been enlightening and a little frightening. Thinking about how facilely the hacker Markus Hess was able to exploit simple careless acts of system administrators is appalling. In today's day and age extreme precautions are taken while installing a new system to make sure all of the passwords are reset. Some computer systems require that users reset their passwords every three months, and don't permit user access until these changes transpire.

     It is fascinating how hopeless people feel when their computer has been hacked. It feels like someone is reading your personal journal right in front of your face, and you have no control to stop them. Whether firsthand or through an immediate friend or family member, we have all experienced some form of computer viruses. They are nasty little bugs that are impossible to kill. And even if you kill most of the bug, they persistently return. The future has an even bigger playground for these cyber spies to meticulously lay cuckoo eggs in our systems. Security has to get tighter to anticipate the growing intelligence and cleverness of the escalating slew of hackers. Only by preparing for the worst can we amply safeguard our confidential data.

new.familysearch.org

"The men work outside, and the women do chores inside," was the unwritten code when I was growing up. At least I thought that was the way it should've been. For me, family history work has been regarded in a similar manner. Doing research and finding family names has always been an activity my mom and grandma would do. As I have matured I now realize how wrong I was. My patriarchal blessing even mentions how I should engage and "get lost" in performing this service. The new.familysearch.org site has been the kick in the pants I needed. The reengineered website may not be without faults, but it has opened my eyes to how easy and satisfying it can be to spend time performing family history work. If you are new to family history work, the church's new website is a great place to start.

Interactive Achievement Awards

Jay Mohr hosted AIAS's 15th annual Interactive Achievement Awards for the gaming industry last Thursday. Should it come as a surprise that such a large business as the gaming industry only got a paltry amount of viewers during its award ceremony? Most people play video games of one form or another. Regardless of whether they play Halo Reach on Xbox 360 or play Facebook's Farmville, both young and old are involved in some form of gaming. Although consumers don't care much about the IAA's, they still trust that they will get the most enjoyment out of the games given a "game of the year" award. They value this label. When they look to buy a new and exciting video game or app, they know they will get their money's worth if they purchase one of these games.

Kim Dotcom

Megaupload's Kim Dotcom was arrested and is awaiting an extradition hearing in New Zealand for money laundering and piracy of various types of copyrighted media. Kim has made millions of dollars from premium member subscriptions to his file-sharing site Megaupload.com. Allegedly, "Megaupload was fueling the entertainment industry's push for SOPA and PIPA in the US." I do not fully understand all the logistics for SOPA and PIPA in the US, but after hearing about the terrible crimes that Kim has committed, something needs to be done. Whether or not SOPA and PIPA will accomplish this, or if another anti-piracy act could stop people like Kim, it should be apparent that online piracy is a major issue, and is affecting all of our lives. There is an astonishing number of file-sharing sites out there that do the exact same thing that Dotcom's website has been doing for over five years. It is upsetting to consider all the internet sites that violate the United States's copyright laws.

New inventions

I love innovative inventions. Of the most entertaining activities I can engage in, browsing through a Popular Mechanics or PC World magazine to see all of the new gizmos and gadgets available to the world is a favorite. One type of invention that doesn't seem to make sense is creating a new medical diagnosis. We watched a video in class which conveyed the story of an antsy girl, who later became a world famous dancer and entertainer. It was pointed out that she would have, in today's society, been diagnosed with ADHD. Giving a child Ritalin may suppress their condition, but that doesn't mean we should. Inventing a new medical diagnosis only gives doctors more options and ways to prescribe costly medication to their patients. Most inventions are great, but inventing a medical diagnosis may have unforeseen side effects.

Smallish Post #1

Facebook has undoubtedly affected our lives. Well, at least for most of us. We have revolutionized how we interact with our friends and associates due to the great influence and change that social networking has wrought. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but it should be on the forefront of our minds. What would the world we live in be like without the social network buzz? Would we be better communicators , more able to express ourselves in public? With the growth of so many social network we need to be aware of the effects that they have on our society. I believe that social networks have changed the whole dynamic of how we express ourselves. Social networks have hurt our ability to articulate words in person, but have granted us access to binding friendships that far outweigh any cost. Facebook has blessed my life with the ability to keep in touch with friends from my mission with whom I otherwise would have lost contact.

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Trying to get my Google Analytic to work.  Where is Kathryn when I need her??

My First Blog Post Ever

I haven't started this Blog of my own free will.  I have been influenced by my girlfriend Kathryn and of course its a course requirement for one of my classes.