Anonymity

One of the great things about communicating using the internet is the ability to remain anonymous. All to often people are afraid to say what they really think or really feel for fear of being judged or attacked. Having the ability to post anonymously allows someone to speak their mind without those fears. Sometimes they have really great things to say, other times they don't. It isn't necessary to force people to reveal their identities to be able to post their thoughts online, if their comments aren't liked people can just ignore them. The internet is great and will continue to be great as long as it is allowed to maintain most of the freedoms that it has.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/21/illinois-state-senator-pushes-anti-anonymity-bill/

What will become of us!?

Cliff Stoll's novel, "The Cuckoo's Egg," is not only a great story and an exciting tale, it is very informative and provides the reader with access to more knowledge about computers. The story is a true story based upon his own personal experiences, and yet he is able to add all the elements into it that make any fictional story good. A big focus of his novel is on computer security and how important it is and essentially how it came to be. In this day and age computers basically run the world. Everyone uses computers, they are used or can be used in every career choice. They make the world run faster and smoother. With these computers and the ease of access to information of all kinds, it has become increasingly more important to have ways to secure and protect confidential and important information. In the novel, the government agencies, with their top secret and confidential information, had no idea that they were even being hacked. They dismissed the idea as impossible, until it was shown to them when and how it was happening.

Computers and computer security have come a long way since then, they have changed, adapted and evolved with the world around them. There are risks in enjoying the comforts which computers and their new programs and websites bring. There are so many loopholes and tricks (just like in the story) that hackers use to get information out of other people. They steal identities,  steal money, destroy information, and much more. Some people learn the hard way, that trusting too much in computers, is such a great risk and have lost "everything." As long as new ideas, new software, and new innovations continue to come out the other side will continue to find ways to break through and wreak havoc. Computers are great, and can be used for so much good, but it is important  that the risks are remembered and calculated. Computers will continue to change and will continue to change the world, but how far do we want them to go? How much do we want to have to rely on them? These questions are especially important considering that there are people who will find ways to break in, and if computers are programmed to do more and more, the possible damage these break-ins can do only increases.      

Women in the Workplace

Growing up in a family of nine, it was very easy to try out lots of different things. When any of us saw another sibling doing something that they enjoyed, it was only natural to go over and try it out. I have many memories of watching my oldest sister play all sorts of computer games. In fact most of my young memories of her revolve around her being at a computer. She now currently works as a software engineer at Amazon, having graduated in Computer Science from BYU. She loves it and just really enjoys computers and being around them. With all of that said, she is also a wife, and a mother of two adorable little girls. She loves them and they love her and it is very apparent when you are around them. I do not know all the reasons why she works, but I know that her family is happy and that they all love each other. The point of all that is that it does not matter. It's not my business to know why and honestly I shouldn't care either way. They are doing the best that they can, and that is all that is expected. I really liked President Samuelson's address and I feel that my thoughts echo his. It doesn't matter what field a woman is in, the decision whether or not to work is between her, her husband (if she has one), and God.      

Bigger and Faster, Yet More Petit

The speed with which the world continues to advance is truly amazing. Not many years ago there was no such thing as a terabyte, during that time a gigabyte was viewed as being very large. Computers took up entire rooms and had very little storage space in comparison to what exists now. Now a new thumb drive has been revealed that has a terabyte capacity. It is now possible to carry around a ridiculous amount of data on a simple key chain. Technology is continuously getting bigger, in terms of storage, and faster, but at the same time smaller and more compact. It is interesting to see how the world is changing, and how the ease with which data is accessed and transported is affecting those changes. In just a few short years, people might be laughing that a terabyte was ever viewed as a lot of space on a thumb drive.



http://www.fastcompany.com/3004591/kingston-reveals-1tb-thumbdrive

To Each Their Own

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/01/28/tech-wireless-code-of-conduct-draft-crtc.html

The same week that the United States made unlocking phones illegal, is the same week Canada proposed this legislation to have carriers unlock phones for their users. It is interesting how different every government is, and how differently they view legislation. Its ridiculous that the government can pass a law making it illegal to use technology that has been purchased in whatever way we want. I understand that there are many things that people can do with unlocked phones that are illegal or "bad," but those people are not going to care that there is a law. They were breaking the law already, when misusing it. All the government is doing, with legislation like this, is restricting the law-abiding citizen from being able to get the legal benefits of having an unlocked phone. Making laws stricter just makes more "criminals" out of good upstanding people.

So Much Time, So Much To Do

 I have often thought about how much different life is today in comparison to the past because of all the recent advancements in technology. I am amazed at how people survived without cell phones, I am not referring to smart phones with internet access and games, I am referring to the simple ability of being able to contact people anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds without them even being home. It is simply amazing how far we have come!  We have the potential and the capability of doing so much in a very short amount of time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches us to use our time wisely and to not idle it away. I believe that everyone who has lived on this earth will be held accountable for how they spend their time. Advancements in technology have provided us with more free time than it has to any other generation. However, with this increase in free time comes a greater accountability to use that time we have been blessed with wisely.