Core Values

As we interface more with the digital realm sometimes we loose sight of good old fashioned core values. We find ourselves rationalizing small indiscretions until we move on to more damaging things. Because of this, core values have become a rarity in society. Though sad, it makes those that still abide by core values an even more valuable asset as both an employee and and themselves. In today's economy where there are not enough jobs to go around we might just consider reacquainting oursleves with these core values if only to make us better than the next applicant.

Fixing Personal Computers While at Work

Information Age - Anyone can take advantage of it

The funny thing about the information age is that it reaches into things normally left untouched by change - in this case churches and religions. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is one such religion that continues to embrace technology. Like many churches, the LDS Church has its own satellite broadcast system, its own YouTube channel, countless websites, and a corporate technology infrastructure that rivals many large businesses. In addition to that, the LDS Church has pioneered the largest genealogy program in the world.  That single advance has revolutionized the way we look at genealogy. If a church that was founded when the horse and buggy were the latest and greatest innovation can benefit from technology, then virtually any organization can benefit from technology.

What is happening to open source?

Since the inception of software there have always been two very different schools of thought – open source and closed source software. Over the years, the war between them has resulted in many casualties, truces and standoffs, each with no clear winner. In the business sector it can be observed that open source is losing ground, due to the fact that open source software appears to be more complicated and less intuitive, as compared to the competing commercial solution. The ironic thing is that that perception is usually not the case. The reality is simply that people are just more comfortable with what they already know, even if it is inferior to other solutions out there. Will the war ever end? Probably not, but we can hope that each side keeps on making its products better and more intuitive.

We're all part of it

In the dawn of the 20th century technology was largely considered mechanical in nature. At the end of the 20th century and on to 21st, technology has taken on a much less mechanical approach and a steep incline into the digital world. With that shift into the digital realm the world has become that much closer and even more intertwined. The World is Flat picks up there and expands the many possibilities and potential complications that we will face.

Of the many things that Friedman covered, the most interesting portion was his ten forces that flattened the world. Though humanity can sit back and look at most of these ten factors and say that they have no influence in them, they forget the last factor "The Steroids." That last factor, strangely enough, is the one that fed and now fuels first nine.

Each person now encourages this self sustaining phenomenon every day in everything we do. Why? Because we are addicted to our personal digital devices. So next time you think you're not making a difference, think again. You are part of the engine that fuels this world.

Happy medium… is there one?

The mp3 changed the way we acquired music because you no longer had to drive to the store or order from a catalog. You could just get a copy of the mp3 from your friend or find someone sharing it online for free. No problem, right?

Wrong! Sharing like that is and will always be an infringement of copyright. The mp3 quickly became the headache of all the record companies. So what did they do? They developed a new song file that had Digital Rights Management – basically a locked-down file so that you could play the song but not copy it. It worked, right?

Nope. The public eventually rejected the idea because of all the added difficulties and complications that DRM created. The current result? Big music companies like iTunes, WalMart, and Amazon.com have almost entirely removed DRM from their music. So now we are back where we started with the cycle beginning once again. Will it go on forever or will we eventually find a happy medium? Probably not, since many people like me hate DRM.

Total Isolation

 

Courtesy ebaumsworld.com

If you work on a computer and use the internet you are probably no stranger to pesky software updates. You would think that some of the billion dollar corporations out there could produce a totally secure and bug-free system, but it has never happened. Why? The reason is simply this: humans created computers and the software that runs on them. Because humans make mistakes and oversights, there are bound to be flaws in computers and the software that runs on them. There is no such thing as a totally secure system as long as it is connected to any other system. The only secure thing is total isolation. Good luck trying to find that. If you actually do, your solution will be worthless. I, for one, chose the pesky updates and a healthy dose of risk-taking over total security. Hopefully I'll keep getting lucky.