Our Group Presentation Theme

Our group presentation is, “Privacy & Security”. Below are the members of our group and their topics:

• Alex – HTTPS & CAPTCHA
• Heather – FaceBook & E-mail
• Brittany – Hackers: Maltego & Passwords
• Jessica – Personal Financial Information
• Nicole – Sex Offenders & Predators
• Alfredo – Warning, Cookies, Temp Files, & Updates

Although we are only covering several items on this subject, there are many more ways that you can protect yourself and your family online. As technology progresses, so will the advancement and methods of losing your privacy and security.

Do we really have privacy and are we really secure? Just like the physical world that we live in, if someone really wanted to get into our cars & homes, they will find a way no matter how secure we make it.

Online Entertainment 10 Years From Now

Several years ago, I was imagining being able to listen/watch songs, movies, and TV shows whenever I wanted to. Today, it is all possible. Only if I capitalized on this and got a patent…I do have several ideals of new technology that I’ve shared with others and several lingering in my head. Some have entered the market and some still on the drawing board.

It’s hard to predict where online entertainment will be in 10 years, but if I were to use my psychic powers, I would say that the cable companies will be extinct. With the high prices and competition with the internet, it’s going to be pretty interesting to watch their downfall.

Your Presentation Topic

My presentation topic was about ABS (Antilock Braking System) Platform. I tried relating our class discussion on “platform” with the automotive industry. I added my presentation video to my HTML blog located below or you can follow this link http://vap-tech.blogspot.com/2011/10/html-basics.html

Community

What makes up a community? I had to internet my friend Google/Wikipedia for this one, LOL.

“The term community has two distinct meanings:

• a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or international community, and
• in biology, a community is a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment.

In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.

In sociology, the concept of community has led to significant debate, and sociologists are yet to reach agreement on a definition of the term. There were ninety-four discrete definitions of the term by the mid-1950s.

Since the advent of the Internet, the concept of community no longer has geographical limitations, as people can now virtually gather in an online community and share common interests regardless of physical location.”


My discussion would be the latter of Wiki’s definition. We’ve been talking about “community” in class, and there seems to be some debate about it. Is it really a community when you interact with groups of people who share a common interest online? What about community property that is created in a virtual world, can that property be claimed as real property?

The reality of all of this is, YES!!! You do belong to a community when you interact online. It can be your social, professional, gaming, etc. networks. There doesn’t necessarily need to be a direct exchange of money to claim things as real property, but the time spent and indirect exchange of currency makes things real property.

Can you imagine making something in the virtual world that has a high demand/use for people and later selling it for cash because someone wants to buy it from you? That, my friend, is considered real estate with no physical properties. Legal system, watch out…"

Calculating Your Net Worth via Online Resources.

“In business, net worth (sometimes called net assets) is the total assets minus total outside liabilities of an individual or a company…In personal finance, net worth (or wealth) refers to an individual’s net economic position; similarly, it uses the values of all assets (long term assets) minus the value of all liabilities.” (Wiki)

Unfortunately, I cannot just enter my name with the key words “net worth” in search engines and have sites automatically pop-up giving you or myself that information. Unlike Bill Gates, whose net worth is $56 billion, I currently have no assets for the record. I’m just a broke college student just like most of the college population.

I used to have a house, several cars, a few motorcycles, a retirement fund, a steady income, and a bunch of miscellaneous items of value, but I kind of gave that up to focus on my education. I’m pretty sure the ROI (return of investment) will be well worth it in the long run so that one day when I do another net worth search on myself, there will actually be a number to be proud of. Until then, I’m just skimming along trying to keep my liabilities at a minimum.

Kialoa & Globalization

I’m having so much fun doing presentations that I figure I’d share one from another class. Since there was a presentation on Invisible Cloak and carbon nanotubes, my subject touched on a little bit of carbon fiber. I so want to major in Composite Materials & Engineering…

Electronic Commerce

Since the advent of e-commerce, buying and selling goods and services haven’t been the same. At first, the majority of people had security issues of disclosing their credit card numbers online. Today, some of us don’t even think twice when entering our personal information.

Personally, I limit my online purchases and prefer to use sites that offer PayPal. With PayPal, I don’t have to disclose all of my information every single time I purchase from different sites. Instead, PayPal becomes the trusted source and middleman of my transactions, which doesn’t leave my information in random databases.

Shopping online gives me the ability to research the market value on items and then make a wise decision to purchase online or at the store. I’ve bought numerous items online and sold random items as well. Some things are better off purchasing online than at the store. It can go either way depending on your taste and preference.

Clothing is something that I prefer to buy at the stores. It gives me the ability to try them on for fit and comfort. If I know a specific brand and their sizing, I will purchase online with confidence. Big purchases, like cars, need to be inspected and driven unless I already know the specifics before getting into a sale.

For the most part, I’ve adapted quite well with e-commerce, but there are still some things that require to be touch, felt, experienced personally to make the sale.

Vanity Search

It is hard to believe how much information is out there on “YOU”. Have you done a vanity search (using an online search engine with your name) on yourself lately? You’d be surprised at how our personal information is readily available. Do a search now and see what you can find.

Where you able to find yourself? If you have a common name, you are lucky. It just makes it harder for someone to find information on you, but if they are persistent, it will be found. For those who found themselves easily, are you surprised?

One thing that is surprising is to find out if someone could actually use all of your information to fill out an application on your behalf. Kind of scary, isn’t it? Does this mean we should be paranoid about the World Wide Web? Definitely not!!!

Just take a moment to make sure you check some of your security and privacy settings. There isn’t much you can do about public records (it is public records), just try to keep it clean.

What…you want to know how to look up people? Let’s just say that there are plenty of search engines and sites out there. Just don’t fall for the ones that require payment, unless you think it’s worth it. Be safe out there…

HTML Basics

Having Some Fun With HTML

I had a little bit of experience working on HTML when I took a few computer classes at Pierce College. I found it very interesting, especially with all of the cool features that you can do to dress up a Web page.

Pages can get very complex. If you are not careful and don't have attention to detail, you can easily have a page that will not work.

When Myspace was popular, I was able to expand and apply what I learned to my pages. Since we are messing around with HTML, I am going to embed my video presentation that I did in class. ENJOY!!!

USPS = Email

WHAT…similarities between the United States Postal Service and Email. No way!!! I can produce a list of differences but nothing that they share in common, at least for now.

After some thought…more thinking…there can actually be a list of similarities between the two. It was proven in class today. I wasn’t able to come up with 10 in our class exercise, but I did manage to come up with almost half of that. Below is my quick thinking of what they share:

·         Transfer of letters and messages

·         Some level of security

·         Address protocol

·         Size limit

Not bad, even though there was 1 student who got 5 out of 10. Side note – this will be on a test.

I later blurted out priority to add to the list on the board. Junk mail, return to sender, mailbox, address book, multiple accounts/PO Box, time of delivery, request receipt/certified, multiple stops, etc.

Since we already know the differences, we can better understand the similarities and how they developed into the technology of email. Who would have known that the basis of addresses and the routes that the postal carrier takes is just like the network of computers and miles of cables?

Expectations

What do I expect to get out of TINST 207A “Living and Working in a Virtual World” fall 2011?

I would like to fully understand the concept of the Virtual World and possibly get some hands-on training in applying it to real life.

I have always been intrigued by technology. When I was a young lad, I would take random things apart to see if I could figure out the internal workings. For the most part, I would get into trouble because I would leave these gadgets deemed worthless for my lack of putting it back together.

Once I got a little older, I found my dad’s tool chest. With the countless and indescribable tools at my finger tips, I became powerful. I started tinkering around with remote controls, my bicycle, and then cars. This messing around eventually led me to take classes in woodshop, metal shop, and a list of automotive courses. I eventually made an automotive technician as my career.

With a couple of on-the-job back injuries, it became evident that a change in career was due. Working on Porsches, Audis, and Volkswagens would be a thing of the past…or is it? I still do some minor items from time to time, but I eventually followed the computer field.

I earned an Associate’s Degree in Computer Network Engineering in 2010. I learned a lot about how computers network, but I found myself troubleshooting friends and family’s laptops. Transferring to the University of Washington Tacoma has led me to lean towards a couple of degrees offered at this campus.

Should I take Healthcare Leadership because of my previous leadership roles, or should I take Information Technology and Systems because it’s right up my alley? I could always spend another year completing the Physics and Calculus series in hopes to transfer to the Seattle campus for Mechanical or Materials Science in Engineering.

Choices, time, and the ability to pass classes…