Assignment 5: Member of the Filesharing World

Throughout the semester our class spent a lot of topics concerning the internet. Some of these topics include copyright and conflict, internet economies, the nature of relational communication in CMC, group dynamics in CMC, internet privacy and identity, and Web 2.0. Of these topics copyright and conflict probably is the most relevant topic of the internet of my life.

As an active user of the internet and file sharing it is a factor that I face mostly every day. Wikipedia states; copyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain. The public domain is where creative works that are not under copyright protection become free use to the public.

The problem with copyright is that for me as an active purchaser of software and other electronic data I am not able to use the full capabilities of what I am buying. One problem that I hate the most would be digital rights management. Digital rights management (DRM) is a generic term for access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to try to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices. The term is used to describe any technology which inhibits uses (legitimate or otherwise) of digital content that were not desired or foreseen by the content provider. I have a very large music library and the converting procedures I need to go through just to listen to the music on the device of my choosing is quite ridiculous. iTunes is just one example of the Digital Rights Management restrictions. When I was younger Napster was one of the most popular places to go download any music. Metallica filed a suit against them when their unreleased song was placed on Napsters server. The new Napster still attracts over 36 million US file sharers.

With this being said I am very grateful of all of the free software movement. Sourceforge is just one example of where you can have free access to free software. With the free software movement comes new terms of "copyleft" takes form of a licence; which removes the restrictions that distribution of copies and modified versions of a work for others.

So as stated before copyright issues are a part of my life. Other than music I am a user of games, academic software and programs, along with other forms of entertainment. I understand that copyrights helps creators to protect their products, but the consumer should also have full rights of that product upon purchasing of that product. I support Richard Stallman's free software movement and it helps people that do not have a lot of money to have access to products that prove useful.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

Assignment #4:Community

In society there are groups which are partially or completely mediated by the internet. One such group that I am an active participant is Facebook. According to Wikipedia; "Facebook is a global social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves" Facebook has reached an all time high of over 300 million active users.

I have been a Facebook user for about three years. My experience started with my girlfriend wanting me to make a page and what not so she can comment on my wall and upload pictures of us. Since then my Facebook usage has greatly increased. Facebook offers a large variety of internet communication technologies. Facebook itself has evolved since its creation. It allows users to join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region. In the beginning it was strictly for college students only, now anyone can create an account. Facebook offers many services such as IM, uploading of pictures with commenting abilities, wall posts, and note capabilities where you can blog. Aside from these Facebook even has applications for entertaining purposes, and now even allows users to access the site through their mobile devices.

Over the years my Facebook engagement has increased and using of all the different services began. As of now I use Facebook at least once a day if I have a computer with internet access. I use it mostly to stay in contact with friends and family, and to play the occasional game through the application programs. On a daily basis I write on my friend's and families' walls and check out their statuses. Just recently a lot of my family started using Facebook to stay in contact with each other; especially my family that live out of state from me. With Facebook I am able to look at the photos of all my family as they grow up. Sometimes I use the IM capabilities and chat with my Aunt just to catch up on things.

Facebook itself allows the development of social ties and other relationships within the group of users. At this point virtually anyone with a computer and internet access can contact someone else through Facebook. All of the different features it offers allows such development of these social ties. I use Facebook strictly to stay in contact with people I know offline. For me Facebook is just another way of communication where I can stay in contact with people I already know. A lot of media presents the negative issues of Facebook with online predators and other harms to their users, but that is what privacy setting are for. I for one have my setting set so that only my friends can access my page and photos. With this I do not have to worry about people seeing personal information of me and my family.

Overall Facebook has brought many benefits to me as a user. Its internet communication technologies allow for me to stay in contact with my family and friends that I do not see on a daily basis. With Facebook applications I am also able to play games in my spare time amongst other forms of entertainment it provides.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

Assignment #3:Applying CMC theories to your own experience

Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is defined as any communicative transaction which occurs through the use of two or more networked computers. Many theories have developed over the years that share both positive and negative effects of such CMC communication. The negative allegations against CMC have been divided into two categories A-socially and Anti-socially. The A-socially aspect of CMC believes that it is impoverished, impersonal, ineffectual, and emotionally cold compared to face to face communication. The Anti-socially aspect against CMC expresses that CMC diminishes face to face interaction, and is more uninhibited, more anti-normative, and more aggressive than face to face.

Not all CMC theories are negative though. One example of a positive supporter is the Social Information Processing (SIP) Theory. The theory argues that people make and maintain good relationships online all the time. Within the theory it has three principals to uncover the interpersonal nature of CMC. The first principle being time spent online; CMC gets more personal the longer people spend interacting with each other. The second principle previous interaction; relationship history increases feelings of connection. The last principle is the anticipation of future interaction; chances to interact again increases people's relational communication in CMC.

An example of an interpersonal relationship is that of the "Love Triangle" murder. The tragedy occurred over an online relationship between a Woman of West Virginia, and two men Thomas Montgomery and Brian Barrett. A jealousy war sparked between the Mr. Montgomery pretending to be a young marine, and his fellow co-worker Mr. Barrett. The end result being the murder of Mr. Barrett over an online relationship. This being a sole example of hyper personal communication gone bad. This unhealthy fantasy not being built on trust was one of the causes of the murder.

In regards to the love triangle interpersonal relationship; The socially information processing theory's principles all occurred. Over a hundred pages of correspondences where found by detectives between the three persons of the relationship. As the online fantasy developed the relationship was worsening. Threats were made by Mr. Montgomery toward Mr. Barrett and the Virginia woman. Previous interaction and anticipation of future interaction was having an affect on Mr. Montgomery; causing him to become more enraged in the situation leading to Mr. Barrett's murder.

Overall; CMC has both positive and negative aspects of communication. Through the different theories developed on the situation we can have agreements and disagreements on each founding principles. I personally think that CMC is an effective method of communication and agree with the Social Information Processing theory completely when it is used properly. Each principle of the theory pushes for a healthy relationship when used for good. On the basis of hyper personal communication, I believe that the cause of the love triangle tragedy was indeed the relationship being built on a series of complete lies, which in the long-term is never going to be good.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/nyregion/07triangle.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-mediated_communication

Assignment #2: Copyright and Conflict

The idea of the copyright conflict is a controversial topic in my opinion. Copyright laws affect pretty much all forms of entertainment including literary works, music, movies, along with several other entertaining mediums. Providing a system that will accommodate both the interest of content creators and at the same time serve the public good equally is the challenge. Today's copyright laws directly affect the size of the public domain and therefore how much content creators have to pay for it. These laws act as the heart of the copyright conflict; content creators want to receive royalties or other benefits for their works, and at the same time the public want to use their works without the costs that come with it, or without having to wait for the content to be released to the public domain.

The development of such a system where there would be a balance between content creators and the public seems like a viable option, but many obstacles still hinder such a development. Copyright laws continue to evolve and expand throughout human culture. Such obstacles include the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) which allows for a time extension on the copyrighted material, preventing it from being allowed into the public domain. Another being the Digital Rights Management (DRM) which is a form of access control technologies that can be used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to try to impose limitations on the usage of digital content and devices.

Aside from all the obstacles that prevent such a creation of a balanced system , a lot of progress has been made toward the development of this balanced system. New changes in technical and social structures have been made. One example of a positive change in favor of the public being the use of servers, where file sharing between peer to peer networks occur. The introduction of open-source software which changed the traditional system of design, development, and distribution of software. Public collaboration is the key component of open-share operations. It relies on practical accessibility to the software's code source between all of the developers. Open-source software development has progressed a lot since its introduction in the the 70's.

The idea of such an open-source system in my opinion is the key to ending this copyright conflict. Public collaborations are what led to the development of the internet, and look at the world today taking advantage of all of the benefits it provides. All users of the system would benefit; the public would have free use of such software that would be available for them. At the same time the developers would have access to another developer's software, and will be able to build their reputations among these communities. The biggest problem with such a system is the effect on the industry itself. With such a system in place the industry itself would collapse due to revenue loss.

With all this being said, I believe in all systems there will never be a complete balance between content creators and the public domain. There will always be the problem of financial burden, which in my opinion is the backbone of copyrighting. Copyrighting will always be a factor because developers want royalties for its limited use of software by its buyers.

Sources:
Tian, Y. (2008). Re-thinking intellectual property: The political economy of copyright protection in the digital era (routledge-cavendish research in intellectual property). New York, NY: Routledge Cavendish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_rights_management

COM125 Assignment 1: TCP/IP revolutionizes the Internet

In the mid 1970's, research of the first TCP/IP network began; TCP/IP meaning Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. By the mid 1980's a successful TCP/IP network was complete. The Department of Defense (DOD) had adopted this new system for all military networking.

This network consists of multiple layers which include IP, TCP, and sockets. The IP is responsible for moving packets of data from node to node based on its IP number. This IP number serves as the destination address. The IP operates by moving data from the department, to the organization, to the region, and then finally to the world as we know it. The TCP is then responsible for verifying that this data is sent to the correct destination from the client to the server. The TCP detects lost data or errors within the transmission process and re-sends the data until all of the data is received correctly and completely. The next layer which are the sockets, serve as a package for subroutines that allow most systems access to the TCP/IP network.

Without the development of the TCP/IP network, the internet would not be possible. All of the networks of the world would not be able to connect to each other. These networks allows users with file transferring, web browsing, mailing, and other essential and convenient services.

Who I am

Hello class;
My name is Jered Greishaw. I am a senior in the civil engineering field. I've wanted to be an engineer for a long time, ever since i was younger. I enjoyed being a hands-on kind of guy all my life and that is how i learned a majority of the things i know today. My father as a construction worker himself encouraged me to be an engineer and use the intelligence i showed so far throughout my schooling, as a key to my future. Using his advise i went to a high school that was specifically majored toward engineering. In high school i enjoyed engineering and pretty much concreted my decision on becoming an engineer.
I have many interests, I'm an outdoors lover enjoying hiking, fishing, hunting, and other motor sports. Other than outdoor activities I am a big sports fan, I enjoy playing hockey and football mainly, and when occasionally get to play paintball with my friends. Besides sports I like to play games, hang out with friends, party, and just live life to the fullest.

Jered