CS 404 Bloggin it Up

Success and Opportunity

2010-04-08T07:33:00.001-07:00

I have often thought about starting my own business, becoming successful, and making well above 8-figures. I think of how great this would be and dream about how my life would be if this actually happened. When I am imagining this, I always at some point ask myself: Why do I desire this? Is it to be a rich fool and live happily ever after? If this is the case, that’s not good. That would put me on the high road to hell. The natural man pulls me that way, and as we can see in the world today, that man is hard to tame. Deep inside of me though, I say, “I would be happy with this life scenario if my desire is to better the world.” And that is my desire. It’s charity: that pure love for my fellow man. It’s too easy to get caught up in financial gain and forget life’s purpose. If I ever ended up in this wealthy situation, I would remind myself everyday that I am a nobody. It wasn’t me alone who got me here, and I am going to have a hard time standing before God if I live lavishly while billions around the world are suffering. Too many rich people put themselves on a pedestal. In Mark 8:36, it sums all this up, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Vloggin it Up

2010-03-30T09:11:00.001-07:00

Technology in India

2010-03-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

The advancements in technology have allowed others on the other side of the globe to listen to the Prophet's voice. Come General Conference time in India, there is a lot of excitement. The members are eager to hear what the Prophet and Apostles have to say. The only downside is that the members don't get to watch conference live. They get it delayed one week. They have to wait a week for the DVD to be shipped from Salt Lake to India. Did I just say one whole week?! As missionaries, we used to whine and complain, "One week delay? That's an eternity!" Oh, how we have become accustomed to technology. If missionaries would actually think about the amazing feat that was in the process, they might bow a knee and thank their God. First, the Prophet of God and Apostles are able to be recorded, including both audio and video. Second, this recording is put on a little circular disc. Third, the disc is sent thousands of miles in the air, across oceans, and received in India without a scratch. Fourth, the Indians are able to plop the disc into a device that can translate this disc back into audio and video. And fifth, they can watch it on a projector. All of this happening in one week. Wow, we are so lucky.

Open Source

2010-03-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

I am continually baffled as to how Linux, Firefox, and Apache have each survived. Not only have they survived, but they are powerhouses in their respective arenas. It is one thing to start an open source project and finish it; I mean, that’s hard enough as it is. It’s amazing if that happens. But to have it go on and dominate an area of the computer industry, like each of the aforementioned projects have done, something’s happening behind the scenes that’s working. To me the natural man is worldly and carnal. Think of the number of hackers in the world. You would think these projects would fail from the first day they go public, yet open source somehow works. It works without individuals collaborating face-to-face and without individuals knowing a certain standard to follow. It’s hard enough in a Cathedral type atmosphere to keep everyone on the same page and united as one. I just don’t see, in open source, how chaos doesn’t ensue and how everything doesn’t fall to pieces. I stand in awe.

The World is What?

2010-03-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

The world is . . . FLAT? Is it really? I mean, isn’t that what Columbus thought, and then he proved himself wrong? So why all of this flatness again? The world is flat, not physically, but rather when it comes to opportunity. I wouldn’t say it is completely flat, but it sure is a lot flatter than what it was.

In the business world, I believe the great flattener was the Internet. Just think about how the Internet has changed our lives. It has changed what we do for our free time, what we do for our jobs, what we do for our business. The Internet has helped so many businesses gain customers that they otherwise wouldn’t have gained. All you need is a website and a couple bucks to pay for the domain name, and you’re ready to go. Take for example, a stay at home mom that set up an herb shop on the Internet straight out of her home. She now competes with some of the top drug companies for business! What is easier than that? Everyone can join the playing field. They might not be good, but they aren’t restricted; so the field is level. Competition no longer has a competitive advantage based upon location because every business is just one click away.

The Internet knows no boundaries: governmental, cultural, or even physical. It loves everybody and gives everyone a greater equal opportunity. This is why the Internet is the great leveler.

Google - I love you.

2010-03-07T21:40:00.001-08:00

Because Google has made search so efficient, all citizens in the world have had their lives enriched. Even those who don’t even touch the internet have also been affected in some way. We no longer have to go to a library to do a research paper. We no longer have to ask somebody for directions; we just ask for the address. We no longer have to watch the news; we request it. Just think of all the time we would have wasted over the years, searching for anything. Google has given this time back to us. As Elder Oaks mentions, time is one of the most valuable possessions. We can't save the time allotted to us each day. So . . . thanks, Google. Google has freed up our allotted time that would have otherwise been spent in meaningless endeavors. And what has Google asked in return? Nothing. Sounds like true love to me.

Copyright

2010-03-04T08:08:00.001-08:00

Should we be able to share all of our MP3’s freely? As a user, I would love to say yes, but as an author/creator I would say no. Issues dealing with copyright have got to be one of the fuzziest legal areas. It’s a fine line to walk, and it’s hard because the line keeps getting redrawn. Some of us, who thought we were walking on the line, are no longer doing so, and others are walking on the line without knowing it. Early on in my life, I’ll just admit it up front, I was a pirate. I didn’t always pay for the products that I used, maybe thinking everything should be freeware. Of course I felt a little guilty, but I had no source of income. As I thought about it though, I would often put myself in the company’s position that I was stealing from. I would imagine that I was a company and created a sweet product. I then released it to the world, asking them to pay only $19.95. Somebody bought the first copy, but that was all. It was then distributed all over the internet to other users for free. I would be ticked. So now when I think of jacking some software, I remind myself of what my mom used to say: Do unto others as you would like to have done.

Hacker = Genius?

2010-03-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

Whenever I think of a hacker I tell myself: Man, he must be a genius. That’s not always the case though. What I really should be thinking is: Man, he’s got talent. Hacking, just like many other things, is an art form. Sure it takes intelligence, but when a hacker starts to involve others, he needs more than intelligence: he needs talent. It takes talent to manage a group of hackers. It also takes talent not to leave any bread crumbs along the way to get caught. Well, in this case, it’s not getting caught for 7 years . . . I was taught in my entrepreneurial class that when you are going to have your own startup, it’s not about what you know, but who you know. And you need to ride these horses to the bank. Well, these four gentlemen did just that: $25 million in just over 7 years. I sure wouldn’t mind that. I really do admire hackers though. Even if they are doing things that are unethical or against the law, when it comes down to it, they are good at their trade. Bill Russell, an NBA all-time great, had a father who told him, “I don’t care what you do for a living. But whatever you do, you make sure you’re the best there ever was. If you want to be a **** garbage man for the rest of your life, I don’t care, but you better make sure you’re the best **** garbage man there ever was.” Perhaps these men had similar fathers.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/compute/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501832&objectid=10629470

I Smell a Hacker

2010-02-22T16:50:00.000-08:00

It is time for Google to take a stand against China. I find it kind of funny that the article says, "the Chinese government denied any connections to the attacks . . . ." Even if the Government was behind the whole scheme, would they admit it? Heck, I sure wouldn't. Of course I'm going to deny being involved, that is the whole reason I am hacking you. I don't want you to know! If I did, I would've told you up front, "Hey, Google, here I come!" This isn't the first incident that Google has had with China or its Government. So I think Google should take the saying of a good movie and "stick it to the man," meaning, cut ties with them. There comes a time when a company, as big as Google, needs to put its foot down and say, "You're going to try and play me? Not on my watch." And make China pay for their actions. Google needs to use its leverage. If Google does this, China will learn; they'll learn. They’ll learn just like a child learns. If the Chinese don’t, then they’re going to have quite a few holes in their feet.

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/69394.html?wlc=1266885875

Why do People Hack?

2010-02-17T21:31:00.000-08:00

As I was reading the Cuckoos Egg, I thought of the question: Why do people hack? I mean, why exactly do they do what they do? What leads them to start hacking? The other day, my next door neighbor found out that I was a CS Major, and so he wanted me to fix his computer because he just got a virus. Fortunately, I was able to remove it, and in the process of doing so, he asked me and his roommate, “Why do people create these viruses? What is the point?” Well, my friend, that is the million dollar question. Some do it for the “thrill”, some for money, some for power, and others because they are just plain evil.

Frankly, in my opinion, hackers are despicable. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the same people who throw their trash in the street, rather than putting it in a garbage can. They are people who will probably stab their own friends in the back. They wouldn’t hold a door open for a grandma. They would take candy from a baby. Every hacker should be locked up and given their own medicine.

Imagine with me a world wide web that doesn’t have any hackers. To go a little further, a web that has no adware, malware, or viruses. The filth and pollution of the internet would disappear. It would be so much more efficient. You would no longer have to be skeptical of any link you click or email you receive. This would be amazing! So what is stopping us from achieving this? Well, the dang hackers! So let’s take ‘em out. All of us together in the biggest, shall we say, open source project against hackers. If you find a hacker, well, lucky you, you get to do whatever you please with him.

Family Search

2010-02-03T17:36:00.000-08:00

As I was reading the articles, I had a thought about how FamilySearch could make a difference in somebody’s life. Take for example an orphan. He has never met his parents or his siblings. He doesn’t even know if he is related to anyone at all. He lives all alone in the orphanage. He doesn’t get along very well with the other kids. For him, his life is very lonely. Often times he thinks of committing suicide because he feels he is a nobody. “If I am gone, nobody will even notice anyway, so I’ll be no loss to society,” he thinks. Then one day he comes across this FamilySearch.org. He is a little hesitant, but decides to do a search for his family. And whala. He actually finds that he is related to some people. He feels a sense of love and connection with his ancestors. What a difference this can make in his life and the joy that can come from this void of loneliness being filled. The reason I am telling this story is because . . . that boy in the orphanage, well, that was me. FamilySearch has saved my life. Just kidding, I had you though huh? But in all seriousness, I could see this happening exactly to an orphan, an inmate, or even a normal person who is just feeling down. There are thousands if not millions out there, waiting to be connected with their ancestors so that they can feel the spirit of Elijah. Family Search can truly give people meaning to their lives as they feel a connection with their family. After all, family is the most important.

Women in CS

2010-01-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

Imagine for a moment: What if half of the developers in the world were women? Truly the world would be different, and I believe it would be different for the better. First off, there would be less money-hungry companies in the world and more companies that care and serve the human soul. Women are more sensitive, emotional, and in tune. They care less about the green and more about the people. I suppose it’s called the natural “man” for a reason. The internet would also be less polluted than it is today. There would be less filth and less pornography because the majority of these companies are dominated by males and male programmers. If half the programmers at these companies were females, I don’t think many of these pictures would be posted. Lastly, there would be fewer hackers. To be frank, one reason is because men are better hackers than women. So to replace them with women, the quality of hacking would go down. Second, men have this thing in their blood where they want to conquer and rule the world. Women, not so much; they have different motives. So what if half of the developers in the world were women? I’m all for it, as long as that’s where they want to be.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/01/tech-events-women.php

Title Whine

2010-01-25T22:39:00.000-08:00

Transforming Title IX into an academic policy is a joke. "The numbers reveal a striking inequity when it comes to gender representation in the math, science, and technology fields." And your point is . . . ? Don't get me wrong, I'm all for equal opportunity and leveling the playing field for all players involved, but man o man, this is a bit much. Let me ask a question, "What if they don't want to be in math, science, or technology fields?" Are we going to kick out the kids who want to study these fields and replace them with females so we can please Title IX? I sure hope not. I do not believe that there are significant barriers restricting women from engineering, computer science, or even math. Computer science is a field that appeals more to men rather than women, just like sports appeals to men more than women. So if we want to mess up academics, just like we did with sports, we should implement Title IX for academics. If that comes to pass, I'll probably be getting a call here soon asking me if I would meet with the head of the MFHD Department, and then forced to join that major! Title IX is like affirmative action for academics, and pretty dismal if you ask me. I think Title IX should take some advice from my mom; she always told me, “Life’s not fair, live with it.”

Free Time

2010-01-20T14:36:00.000-08:00

If we were to label adolescents today by how they spend their free time, I would assume society would call children that watch 4-5 hours of television each day, "normal," and those that happen to read a book, "nerds." Society also considers other things "normal," such as eating out instead of in, and drinking soda instead of water. So I'm actually glad to be considered abnormal. We are an obese people: we drive rather than walk, we wait for an elevator rather than take the stairs, and we eat food that's been pre-made rather than make it ourselves; so why would children wasting time watching TV for hours on end be a shock? It's "normal". If we want to change this habit, there’s only one way: parents. Everything comes down to parents in the home. We have tried to make kids better educated through many different means, but it’s all useless if there is no support in the home. Likewise, if we want to change the television habit, we should start with the real problem, parents, and not the kids.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/services/data/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222301702

Thanks to Google.

2010-01-13T19:29:00.000-08:00

Because Google has made search so efficient, every citizen in the world has had their life enriched. Well, each citizen that has access to a computer and the internet, I suppose. We no longer have to go to a library to do a research paper. We no longer have to take ask somebody for directions; we just ask for the address. We no longer have to watch the news; we request it. Just think of all the time we would have wasted over the years, searching for anything. Google has given this time back to us. As Elder Oaks mentions, time is one of the most valuable posessions. We can't save the time allotted to us each day. So... Thanks Google. Google has freed up our allotted time that would have otherwise been spent in meaningless endeavors. And what has Google asked in return? Nothing. Sounds like true love to me...

Claim for Technorati

2010-01-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hopefully they can verify this claim, here it is: code BS764A62T33R holla