12/09/14 Smallish Post 7

Last class, Brother Knutson discussed the release of chemicals in the brain that create addictions. My main interest for this topic is video game addiction because, unlike drugs, video games are not addictive to everyone. I have been contemplating what makes a video game addictive and after some research I have found that there are many different elements to making a video game "addictive." As discussed in a previous class from a conference talk, the main type of addictive gaming is called Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). What makes these particular types of games more addictive than others is the relationships users are able to build with other users (which generally replace often broken real-world relationships), and that the games have no end; when a game has no end goal, the user never experiences that final accomplishment of completing the game, thus sending him into a loop of never-ending tasks. As with everything in life, healthy gaming consists of gaming in moderation.


http://www.video-game-addiction.org/what-makes-games-addictive.html

12/02 Vlog Post

Checks, credit cards, and even physical banks are slowly becoming obsolete with new advances in technology. There are two main contenders that are threatening the existence of these classic forms of money management; the products are ApplePay, which uses an iPhone to charge payments, and now the bPay wristband, which is a new payment device worn on the wrist. With these new advances, it is more important than ever for programmers to stay up to date with current security safety measures in order to protect the end users and their private payment information. As Computer Science majors, it is imperative that we take the skills we have gained from lectures and from security classes and educate ourselves on the current issues before we enter the industry. If we take this job lightly, there could be many negative repercussions from a small obscure loophole in our code that could put the financial security of millions at risk.   

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/24/tech/innovation/future-finances-checkbook-pin-number/index.html

11/20/14 Smallish Post 6

A major factor that tends to encourage women to computer science, according to Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing, is to connect programming to other fields. I found this section particularly interesting considering it is actually one of the reasons I continued in computer science. Programming is now such a versatile skill that it can be used in almost any field. I personally am planning on being an analyst instead of a developer with my future career. This summer I completed an IT analyst internship at General Mills in Minneapolis and I found it an appealing use of my knowledge of programming without actually programming all day. In the book, it was discussed that women are often discouraged from computer science because they feel they will just sit in a cubicle alone all day coding without human interaction. Since the numbers for women in computer science are declining, I believe the best method to remedy this is to focus on what can be accomplished by computing and what opportunities in other fields come as a result of computer science degree.

11/13 Book Post 2

The book I selected for the second book assignment is called "Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing." This choice was inspired by our guest speaker who discussed women in computer science. It focuses around why women leave computer science and the attributes of those who stay. The topic that stuck most with me regards the drastic changes of women who leave computer science between one semester to the next. It shares the story of a woman with a 4.0 GPA who quit computer science after two semesters because she felt others in her classes caught onto the material faster than she did so she must not belong. The studies in the book show that women and men often perform the same in classes, however it is the student's self perception that is the determining factor in persistence with computer science. Statistically, the women in computer science classes feel less confident in their abilities than the men, and when they feel uncomfortable in the major they are much less likely to continue.

11/11 Smallish Post 5

The Revolution OS video referenced a letter Bill Gates wrote in 1976, titled "An Open Letter to Hobbyists." This letter is a result of the frustration Gates and his coworkers felt after spending a massive amount of money and time on creating software just to have it stolen by hobbyists who would rather trade software than buy it individually. The most powerful statement in the letter is that "One thing you don't do by stealing software is get back at MITS for some problem you may have had. MITS doesn't make money selling software. The royalty paid to us, the manual, the tape and the overhead make it a break-even operation. One thing you do do is prevent good software from being written." This letter is well written but I do not think it accomplished its goal. Piracy and software stealing is a threat to the industry because, as Gates states, good software will not come if the programmer believes he will get less than a tenth of what he deserves. Though nearly 40 years old, this is still a relevant letter that we have to address to successfully advance technology.

11/04/14 Smallish Post 4

Unintended internet fame can be a severe threat to privacy; in a mere 12 hours in November of 2014, a regular high school student from Texas, named Alex, became internet famous; he happened to be working at a Target where a teenage girl snuck a picture of him. She then posted the picture of him on Twitter and after less than a day of that original post, he has since gained over half a million "followers" on Twitter, thousands of fake accounts claiming to be him have been created, he is being tweeted by celebrities, and his girlfriend is now receiving death threats from girls who want to date Alex. This situation may seem comical to some, but it imposes a severe threat on privacy. This internet famous star did not choose fame but it was pushed on him by a local girl who posted his picture without his consent. Now, his social media pictures are distributed everywhere, his friends and family (and girlfriend) are having privacy violations and threats.

10/30/14 Smallish Post

Being in the technology field, it is imperative to be open to change; technology advances daily. This post was inspired by the comment by our guest speaker, Daryl C. Dougal, who mentioned the FBI altering their jurisdiction to include cyber crime. As a future worker in the technology industry, I want to be able to say that I am confident that my company's system is secure; in order to make this possible I need to not only learn well in my courses but continuously update my education as technology changes. This is a concept that is rare for employees to act on; having to constantly keep up to date on new technology can be exhausting--especially when it is not something that the company will cover. However, it would give leverage to companies that take advantage of this knowledge and provide their employees with regular technology training. Overall, it makes an invaluable worker of the one who takes pride in updating his education, and a possible security risk of the one who does not.