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The Zhan

Bridges and Barriers to Digital Inclusion - 0 views

  • some 91 percent of Americans now use a cell phone, and 90 percent of cell phone subscribers in the United States and Western Europe have phones that are Internet-ready
  • Digital Inclusion: In some circles, the term digital divide is itself defunct. Instead, using digital inclusion is not only a way to reframe the discourse in a more positive light but also reflective of what access, adoption, and literacy in the digital world really mean today. Students who are excluded from the digital universe know exactly what they're missing
  • In May 2011, U.N. Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue released a report declaring that access to the Internet is a basic human right.
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  • The digital divide, once seen as a factor of wealth, is now seen as a factor of education
  • "The question is not whether we can get an iPod into every kid's hand. It's whether communities can leverage the capacity of networks to make learning more authentic and powerful for students." It's not just word processing, but blogging and tweeting; not just a class project, but an international student collaboration; not reinventing the wheel every time, but tapping into a professional-learning community that shares ideas and resources.
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    How do we define digital access when the price of personal computers and related technologies has dropped dramatically over the years?
The Zhan

Kodak declares bankruptcy: The company that captured the 20th century (Photos) - 0 views

  • Unable to keep up with the 21st-century transition from film to digital technology, Kodak listed a debt of $6.8 billion
  • Kodak has been felled by exactly what it espoused: universal access to cameras.
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    The main social and ethical issue that this article brings up is that of people and machines. The fact that Kodak has declared bankruptcy is hardly surprising, as though they were the company who worked so hard to develop the world of photography, they have failed to develop themselves in order to adapt to the new world of photography, while other companies such as nikon, samsung etc, have by constantly creating new digital cameras with new attractive features. This article is recent story of how Kodak are trying to sue Samsung for potentially infringing one of their patents: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16631710 This article is prime example of how having an innovative idea is simply not enough to be successful over an elongated period of time: Just because Kodak had the idea of digital photography, that does not mean that they did not have to compete with other companies to remain the leading brand in photography. It seems to me that Kodak's complacency after having had the idea of digital photography led to their downfall. Explain the relationship between the IT system (digital photography) and the social/ethical (people and machines) The article shows how for the the public to continue to have an interest in machines such as digital cameras, they must continue to be developed, improved, updated and upgraded, as the appeal of new technology attracts customers. In this case, Kodak failed to keep up with the rate at which the world of digital photography is evolving.
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Mr Brooke

Digital Millenium Copyright Act: Home - 2 views

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    "The distribution of copyrighted materials without permission (over the internet) can be a violation of federal law. The law is known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 ("DMCA"). Much of the music, movies, video, or games that are downloaded via file sharing networks like KaZaA, Gnutella, Napster, Blubster, and eDonkey, are distributed without the permission of the copyright owner, and thus these downloads are illegal. The federal government and various organizations (such as the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA) are very serious about enforcing the provisions of the DMCA legislation, and violations can carry stiff fines and potential jail sentences."
Mr Brooke

BBC News - Apple launches e-textbook tools with new iBooks - 9 views

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    1.11_people_machines 1.12_digital_citizenship 2.2_edu_training 2.2_hw_networks_classroom
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    1.11_people_machines 2.2_IT_teach_learn 3.4_internet
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    1.11_people_machines 1.6_digital_div_equ_access 2.2_IT_teach_learn 3.2 _software
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    Stakeholders: Students Advantages for students Productivity applications and textbooks are available to download online - easy global Access. the files are digital, so they can be transfered easily The online texbooks are safe from physical dangers, such as fires Convenience - being able to access iTunes U (university level resources) and the internet Saving time - files in an electronic format can be edited, searched and backed up easily. Disadvantages for students Although the files are safe, the iBook itself is still susceptible to physical damage The files may be corrupt Battery power failures and technical problems (they don't happen with physical notebooks) Access to internet and resources may depend on whether the space has wireless Access to games and rich interactive productivity applications can become the norm. Thence users' attention span may decrease The cost of product, of electronic textbooks and applications is the major issue From an evaluative point of view, I think that using a portable electronic device in place of a physical textbook would not benefit the students very much. The values a teacher is looking for are the ability to focus and listen, and the iBook could encourage the student to run parallel tasks at inappropriate times. The device would not be suitable for younger audiences, and in my opinion, it would contribute to a child being spoiled. Rather more mature users would benefit from this product, because they are more conscious of its function and, most importantly, the price they had to pay for it. Other stakeholders may include Apple, educators and digital course material publishers.
Fiche Galinha

BBC News - O2 apology for disclosing mobile phone numbers online - 3 views

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    25 January 2012 Last updated at 12:23 ET O2 has apologised for a technical problem which caused users' phone numbers to be disclosed when using its mobile data. The company said it normally only passed numbers to "trusted partners". A problem during routine maintenance meant that from 10 January numbers could have been seen by other websites.
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    Well, the main problem in this story is the privacy of the O2 users in my opinion. The issue is the fact that they've let(intentional or not) websites gain the user's phone number. Even though they "investigated, identified and fixed it this afternoon" - it is still rather disconcerting that it happened. It might have a been an isolated problem, but that does not change the fact that their personal information was shared without their consent. But I may be overreacting, as of now there is no knowing how many will be affected. However, one would expect that there some are legal obligations in terms of notifing the offended costumer and the authorities - this does not seem to be the case in a lot of EU countries. Including the UK as far as I can tell. Last year there was talk of creating data breach notification laws in the EU - but from what I gather has not passed yet.
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    This article writes about the EU data protection act - I guess I was right, there are no laws universal EU law at the moment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/248566/eus_data_protection_proposals_likely_to_include_24hour_breach_notification.html It says that the EU should have made an announcement today about it.
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    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15730499 How much privacy can smartphone owners expect?
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    How much privacy can anyone except these days? It is no only owners of smartphones. Our generation is literally throwing away our privacy. Smartphones, facebook - it seems to be that most mainstream technology items lessen our privacy nowadays. http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/01/use-google-time-to-get-real-about-protecting-your-digital-self/251981/#.TyBIy3wo_AA "Google's decided to integrate the data it has about you, which means you better think about the digital tracks you're leaving. "
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    I agree with Morten and Isy. Privacy is decreasing by the second. Technology is increasing rapidly and many people like these new technologies, such as using smartphones, social networks etc. Yet, are they aware of all these drawbacks? Privacy is lacking, and many people believe that we don't even have privacy anymore since data can be accessed much easily now that technology has evolved. Here's a video about how a smartphone can cause privacy issues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2vARzvWxwY&feature=fvst With one click on a person's picture, people may obtain their location, where they live and other personal information. This is a cause of technology rising so much in the past years, which has lead to all these privacy issues. People should start to be more aware of this situation, that by only a picture on the internet people can obtain personal information that can lead to severe issues. One of the solutions for this issue could be to turn off the location service on their smartphone in order to not be able to be tracked where hackers can see the exact place where a person is.
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    As mentioned above the the issue concerned about in this article is privacy as peoples information (mobile phone numbers) are displayed on websites without their consent. Obviously the fact of having others know personal information may leave people concerned, however they must be aware that their personal information is spread all over the internet. From pictures on facebook to a gmail/youtube accounts peoples names, adresses and surnames are most likely known by some companies. Google and Facebook holds personal information that belongs to each one of us. What companies like such do to profit from this is sell a list of names, adresses and emails to third party which will then have means of communication with us to advertise their products and this is responsible for some of the spam we receive. The solution for this specific scenario of mobile phones isn't very clear, although it has been fixed no way of how it could of been prevented was suggested. Perhaps a the server could be shut down while it was under maintenance and another one should've been running in the meanwhile. Clearly the issue here had nothing to do with the mobile phone users and there was nothing they could have done as they were unnaware of the situation. I personally believe that privacy does not exist on the internet. It someone wishes to have privacy then the safest way to go do so is to not use/be connected to the internet. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/09/30/when-it-comes-to-cell-phone-privacy-youre-an-open-book/ Shows how mobile phones can cause privacy issues and how police officers now have gadgets that allows then to see everything that a person has done in their mobile phone, this clearly violates peoples privacy.
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    I would just like to mention that I posted this, not fiche galinha -.- diigo is trolling me.
Mr Brooke

The Top 50 Gawker Media Passwords - Digits - WSJ - 0 views

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    Hilarious. Please tell me that your online passwords are not so stupid.
The Zhan

Freedom of information vital for promoting cultural diversity - 1 views

  • “Free speech and media freedom are an inseparable part of the United Nations’ mission for peace, human development and a better world,” Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Kiyo Akasaka told a global seminar on linguistic diversity, globalization and development in Alexandria, Egypt, on Sunday.
  • “But around the world, we see Governments and those who wield power use many different ways to obstruct it. The Internet and digital media are becoming a new battleground for information.”
  • He cited the impressive pace of innovation and growth in new information and communications technologies (ICTs): by the end of 2010, there will be an estimated 5.3 billion mobile cell phone users; access to mobile networks is now available to 90 per cent of the world population and 80 per cent of people living in rural areas. Moreover, the total number of text messages sent globally has tripled in the past three years, from 1.8 trillion to a staggering 6.1 trillion, that is 200,000 text messages sent every second, and the number of Internet users has doubled between 2005 and 2010, when it will surpass the 2 billion mark, of which 1.2 billion will be in developing countries.
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  • But the digital divide remains, he warned, with 71 per cent of the population of developed countries online, compared to only 21 per cent in developing countries, and by the end of this year, Internet users in Africa will reach 9.6 per cent, far behind the world average of 30 per cent. For millions of people in poorer countries, downloading a high-quality movie can take one-and-a-half days compared to five minutes somewhere else.
  • All this increased connectivity and the role media and institutions can play in protecting and promoting cultural and linguistic diversity and ensuring its use for the greater good require two elements, Mr. Akasaka stressed.
  • “First, is the need to find ways to provide information to all people,” he said. “And second, is the need to ensure that the information that is conveyed – the substance – is diverse, pluralistic, and tolerant. Member States, the private sector, UNESCO and the United Nations are all working to bring information and communication assets and services to communities around the world.
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    Statements of a UN official stressing the importance of the freedom of information for globalisation.
Jorge F1

Israeli hacker retaliates to credit card hacking - 2 views

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    An Israeli hacker has published details of hundreds of Saudi credit cards online and is threatening to post more in revenge for acts by Arab hackers.
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    One of the main social and ethical issues in this article is surly privacy. Privacy has been a main issue for our society, not only about credit card details, yet also other personal information. As technology is increasing, the less privacy we have as there are more ways in obtaining this information. And in this case, as technology is increasing, hackers are also as there are easier and more ways in order to get the information they want. There are various ways the hacker can get access to these thousands of credit card numbers, here is one step-by-step of one of the ways of how this IT system works: Firstly, the hacker (or hackers) go around lots of banks and put a small video camera pointing to the bank machine keypad. This video camera is well hidden so that people cannot see them. When someone goes to the machine, they put their credit card number and this analogue information converts to digital information and is recorded in the memory in the video camera. After a few hours/days, the hackers remove the video cameras and upload the data in the memory card via a USB cable and save the data on their servers. The hackers then watch the video and record the credit card numbers on a paper/other computer. With this information, they can obtain more personal information such as names, phone numbers, post codes etc with specialized programs. Finally, when they have all the information they have, they post the personal information including the credit card numbers, on the internet. Yet, in order to maintain the hacker anonymous and not being able to be found via the IP address, he uses another proxy server when uploading this information on the internet. There are also other ways to get the credit card information such as: - Intercepting emails containing passwords - Popups infected by viruses - Spyware - Spam - Keyloggers etc. Some possible solutions for this issue is: - When typing your credit card number in the bank machine keypad, hide the keypad coveri
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    Well yes, I agree with Ines. This is to some extent about privacy. However, I doubt that they obtained that much information by use of cameras in banks. I'd find it much more likely if they have obtained the data from a database in the private sector. I do not think privacy is the most important issue here though. By far and large the most important issue in the article - is how cyber warfare could start to affect the conflict in the Middle East. We've seen how valuable the Internet was in the Arab Spring. The cyber warfare is going to be, and to some extent I imagine, is already an essential tool for the different factions in the Middle East. As this was a breach in the private sector, the security there must be improved with f.ex. stronger firewalls.They must improve their security, if not they are sure to lose money because of the reliability issue.
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    I agree with you, Morten. However, I gave one example of how it would be possible to obtain the credit card numbers, where I gave in the end more examples of how it would be possible to do so.
Fiche Galinha

BBC News - Google admits profiting from illegal Olympic ticket ads - 6 views

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    This article has made clear that the AdWords advertising system is flawed, it is unacceptable for a large company like Google to lead users to believe that a website can be trusted using the 'sponsored links' and continues to make profit. This goes against the 6th point in Google's philosophy "You can make money without doing evil" although they are not doing it consciously. From the article I understood that the system is run using an automated filter to identify websites which break Google's policy and a manual assessment also takes place by a human. Instead of using just one human, a group of humans can assess the adverts to ensure nothing is missed. Furthermore, an update of Google's databases should regularly take place in order to catch illegal websites quicker.
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    Here is a list of all Google's philosophy, http://www.google.com/about/corporate/company/tenthings.html
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    Good story this and nice link to Google's philosophy Jorge. This article is a good one for commenting on the relationship between the stakeholder and the IT system. Anyone want to step up and "Describe the relationship of one primary stakeholder to the IT system"?
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    This article raises a huge reliability issue as people are being tricked to buying tickets from fake websites, which are advertised by Google. Due to its increasing reputation over the years, the average internet user will use and think of Google as the most reliable website to navigate, and therefore would trust most of the llinks that would appear when they search for something. The secure and reliable reputation Google has is what makes the fact that these illegal websites being sponsored ads such a large issue. It affects many web users and as they are likely to visit these websites, their personal information such as bank account details and personal details are made public. So security could also be seen as an issue as these people are put at risk as they have given their bank account data to fake websites, who could use the data gain access to bank accounts and steal money.
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    Google's corrupt sponsored links affects nearly every digital citizen, as Google is by far the most popular and used search engine. There is alternatives to Google, but nevertheless Google is the most popular search engine(we're talking 70+% http://www.seoconsultants.com/search-engines/ ) I agree with Jorge's main ideas above. However, I do not think that increasing the number of people checking would make any large difference. It is their filters which needs an update - something I'm sure they're already doing. It does raise some reliability concerns, being the most popular search engine, you'd expect them not to endorse(even unknowingly) corrupt links.
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    The social and ethical issues related to this news story are reliability, privacy and anonimity to an extent. Privacy as the information from the buyers credit card is given to what seems to be an unknown person or company. The multiple stakeholders seen would be the buyer, Google and the advertiser. Although it is via Google that the advertiser gets sell his product, it is important to understand that there are most likely thousands of advertisements added daily to the Google search engine and, referring back to Jorge's point, it would be very likely that humans would fail to see such mistakes as well after repeatedly going through hundreds of adds everyday. The trust and reliance that people have on Google can be misleading and it is evident that to solve such an issue people must be awared of the several scams that they are exposed to every single day in order to prevent this sort of problems.
Morten Nielsen

BBC News - Valve's online game service Steam hit by hackers - 3 views

  • The attackers used login details from the forum hack to access a database that held ID and credit card data
  • The initial investigation showed that the attackers gained access to a Steam database that held "user names, hashed and salted passwords, game purchases, email addresses, billing addresses and encrypted credit card information".
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    This article further increases the already notorious fear of databases containing people's details being accessed by undesired people, who could potentially use this data to cause harm. This raises a serious privacy issue, as, although it has not been confirmed, these hackers have accessed the Steam database which holds up to 35 million people's credit card data and email addresses, posing a threat to a large amount of people. Although it is not known if any harm came of this attack, security measures such as changing password and transferring credit card data to a more secure service (Steam Guard security service) were suggested to Steam users. This is a solution that doesn't undo the harm that has already been made, but is still a positive measure as it can help prevent potential future attacks from hackers on this database.
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    "Valve has officially rolled out its new Steam security system, Steam Guard, which allows users to lock their accounts to a single PC if they so choose. Steam Guard essentially blocks all attempts to access a protected Steam account, then sends verification emails to a registered email address which allow the account owner to monitor account activity and grant access on a single PC at a time. " http://www.bit-tech.net/news/gaming/2011/03/17/valve-launches-steam-guard-security/1 This ensures the 35 million users "the account security they need as they purchase more and more digital goods", especially if they use Steam in public spaces such as cibercafés. http://www.joystiq.com/2011/03/03/valve-introduces-steam-guard-to-fight-acount-phishing-and-hijack/
Ines Simon

Study: Multitasking hinders youth social skills - CNN.com - 7 views

  • A few years ago, Nass worked on a study about how multitasking affects adults. He found that heavy multitaskers experience cognitive issues, such as difficulty focusing and remembering things. They were actually worse at juggling various activities, a skill crucial to many people's work lives, than those who spent less time multitasking, Nass said.
    • Ines Simon
       
      "Heavy multitaskers experience cognitive issues, such as difficulty focusing and remembering things."
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    (CNN) -- FaceTime, the Apple video-chat application, is not a replacement for real human interaction, especially for children, according to a new study. Tween girls who spend much of their waking hours switching frantically between YouTube, Facebook, television and text messaging are more likely to develop social problems, says a Stanford University study published in a scientific journal on Wednesday.
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    Employees of Silicon Valley giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo and Hewlett-Packard opt to send their children to computer-free Waldorf schools. These subscribe to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks. They affirm that computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans. Computers are not allowed in classrooms and "their use at home" is frowned upon. "Teaching is a human experience," says an associate professor of education at Furman University, "Technology is a distraction when we need literacy, numeracy and critical thinking." "And where advocates for stocking classrooms with technology say children need computer time to compete in the modern world, Waldorf parents counter: what's the rush, given how easy it is to pick up those skills?" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/23/technology/at-waldorf-school-in-silicon-valley-technology-can-wait.html?_r=4&pagewanted=all
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    It's true that computers can give a person bad habits, I do not doubt that. But the article is not offering any numbers nor web page reference of any kind; so we cannot verify this easily. However, my point is that perhaps computers have not made anyone more antisocial, than what they would have been without computers. The articles says that "Young girls who spend the most time multitasking between various digital devices, communicating online or watching video are the least likely to develop normal social tendencies", but what is "normal social tendencies"? There will be some of these young girls without "normal social tendencies", but I doubt that the difference between these young girls, and the ones who does not multitask - is about the same amount of girls without these normal tendencies. Not all mice are gray, some are brown. Not all users of IT are antisocial, some who aren't will be antisocial as well.
Jorge F1

BBC - Newsbeat - Sim cards used to send thousands of spam texts blocked - 0 views

  • Never reply to spam text messages (if you do it just confirms your number exists and you're likely to get even more) Forward any spam messages to your operator (most of them have dedicated text numbers you can send spam to so they can investigate where it came from) Always be careful about handing over your mobile number, especially online (you'll often need to untick small boxes in forms if you don't want your number passed on)
Mr Brooke

FRONTLINE: digital nation: living faster: split focus: how do teens do homework today? ... - 1 views

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    "How Do Teens Do Homework Today? It takes a lot of multitasking, but Michaela admits that sometimes it's nice to focus on just one thing. Michaela is a 17-year-old high school student from Irvine, CA. "
Mr Brooke

TNS Digital Life | Internet Statistics & Social Media Usage | Online Behavior & Trends - 1 views

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    Cool infographics about online behaviour
The Zhan

Latest Trends in Reservation Systems - 0 views

  • An effective reservation system has to employ the latest technology to allow hoteliers to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals and remain at the forefront of emerging trends,
  • today’s consumer becomes more comfortable with the internet, social media and ecommerce mobile technologies.
  • Hotels must adapt their websites to respond to this development by adopting the use of booking engines and developing marketing strategies to include mobile technology.
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