Remix Culture Questions (Group 1)

1. When I hear "Remix Culture," I immediately think of the discussion we had in class last week about "Girl Talk" and how the deejay takes others songs and remixes them into his own. Remix culture could also be a culture where no content is original anymore, that everything (every sound, idea, logo, shape...) came from somewhere else first. This is definitely apparent in music and films, where I feel like I keep seeing the same story/chorus over and over again. How many remakes of classic movies and songs do we have to hear and see? That leads the question of is the remake even considered original work or will it always just be a remake? I assume this means that anyone is a producer and anyone is a consumer in our culture.

2. The biggest consequence of remix culture is that nothing is original anymore. The remixers are "technically" stealing work of others but not getting in trouble for it... So is nothing protected? What about those copyright laws we fight so hard for? Are you only a thief if you steal a tangible good? Music is created and lots of time is spent into making it so it should have the similar consequences.  Remix culture is even affecting innovation. If people are scared to create because they do not think that they will get the proper money or recognition for their work, then our society stops moving forward completely. But aren't we all innovators? Isn't that how great things are created  by building on something and making it even better? Every good idea had to start somewhere, can we copyright and protect every single inspiration?

IPR, Copyright/ Left, CC Questions (Group 12)

http://www.wipo.int/freepublications/en/intproperty/450/wipo_pub_450.pdf

1. When searching to make sure that no other trademarks are similar to the new proposal, what guidelines does the committee follow to make that decision? What justifies something being too similar or different?

I really like the line, "The progress and well-being of humanity rest on its capacity to create and invent new works in the areas of technology and culture..." This is an interesting perspective and I think it is so true. Without protection of ideas, no new products could ever be designed and created and without this creation, there would be no progress. The core idea of our society is to create and continue moving forward with new ideas and this can only happen with IPRs improving the quality of life. Nothing we take for granted such as movies and medicine, would exist without this system. Until this article, I had no idea how important this system really was.  I have this great idea for a new product, but clearly I can't post it online because someone will try to steal it and make it their own since it isn't patented. I like this though, because it protects from idea theft which can take away recognition or even money from the rightful owner. I also never thought about industrial designs being patented, I always assumed it was s free-for-all, so this was interesting news to me.

Digital Divide Questions (Group 11)

1. To me, the digital divide is the difference in knowledge and access in technology between classes. It is the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The poor people do not know how to use technology the way the rich do because they do not have access or the ability to ever learn.

2. This video was very interesting to me! It is amazing to me how different their society in India is compared to our lives in America. Parveen's village didn't even have electricity until six months ago, her mother left school at age eight, and she rides her bike to school; something that we Americans can't even fathom. I am confused as to why Parveen's school makes the children pay every month to use the computers. It is also surprising that a school of 500 has only three computers. I guess I take for granted how lucky I am to live in a society where every student has their own personal computer and houses have up to four per home. Not only is there a huge divide between U.S. and India, but even between villages in India. The digital divide is prominent everywhere throughout the world. If we work to close this knowledge gap, the world as a whole could be so much more educated and advanced.

Music & Technology Questions (Group 10)

I vaguely remember the days when I paid for music, at that time $0.99 for one song seemed absurd. CD's were verrryyyy expensive and treasured purchases. I have been illegally downloading music for years now. I switch from site to site since illegal music sites are clearly "illegal" and are often shut down. I like MP3Rocket and youtubetoMP3 as my personal favorites. I think our generation and the ones following us are past the point where paying for music is even an option, especially since it is so simple to get music illegally or just stream it on your computer. I don't think people realize the morally wrong nature of this act, since it is so common. For the music industry to thrive, they must do something more and different to attract the upcoming tech-savvy generations.

IT & War Questions (Group 9)

1.In general, describe the relationship between I.T. and war as it has existed throughout history and into the present: I never really thought of there being a big relationship between I.T. and war until this class actually, when we read the Vaneiver Bush article. The greater the technological advancements, the higher warfare technology we can employ on our enemies. I think it is a bit ridiculous that we are achieving so much technological greatness only to employ it for a one time use during a battle.

2. Consume the following material:

• Video: "The Military Invented the Internet: What Next?"
• Text: "War and Technology" 

Three Quotes:

1. "War is a driver for technology... everything from the Internet to jet engines to robotics are all things where military is a driver. This goes into question of human duality and human creativity."

2. "Maybe the question is that we can't get past our age old need to destroy each other. Is it machines that are wired for war or are we just inherently wired for war?"

3.  "But countless inventors and innovators, from Alfred Nobel to Robert Boyle, thought of weapons positively. They believed that they could banish the scourge of war, or at least restrain its excesses, if they could only invent the ultimate weapon, the instrument so horrible that no one would dare use it."

I assumed that weapons were only made in war for evil, and it was a negative thing to spend so much time, money and effort making our weapons more powerful. Now I realize, weapons can be made for good. They can be so powerful that nobody would dare use it, such as a nuclear bomb. We can't use that for fear of retaliation. I thought it was really interesting how closely related I.T. is with war, as seen in countless examples and circumstances. Humans are wired to create, but does that mean we are wired to destroy? I know it's the survival of the fittest with the human race, and being technologically smart makes you wartime smart as well. 

Virtual Reality Questions (Group 9)

My initial understanding of virtual realities is a place online where people create avatars and act out another life. I picture online Sims, or Second Life, or World of Warcraft type games. People use these games to escape their own reality and live in a virtual reality where they can achieve anything and be anything they wish.

Questions
1.) Do you think it's possible that people can be so consumed with their virtual reality that they eventually start to believe that is their actual reality? With all the advancements in gaming, I predict this situation could happen all the time.. Which could be very dangerous and unstable

2.) I think the philosophical question of "what is reality" is a very necessary one. What do you believe? Do you agree with Plato's ideal form, with Buadrillard's "hyperreality" with Kant's phenomena idea? Do you think there even exists a reality beyond what we physically can interact with?

3.) If we are interacting with a virtual world, are we ever truly engaged or interacting when we are interacting with an illusion, a virtual facade of something real?

IT: Privacy and Security Questions (Group 6)

1.) What does the bank do with this private data after it's unnecessary or obsolete? How long can they keep it and/or who can they share this data with? Personally I am okay with the  banks knowing my privacy information or my IP address if that means that my money is safer, but I don't want anyone else having access to that sensitive data...

2.) Whoa, the transparency grenade makes private governmental information public to everyone... Is this really a good idea? Leaking governmental information makes it easier for citizens and activists to be involved and aware, but it also makes it easier for people plotting against the US to gain information they would use in a negative way. I think there is a reason that the government keeps certain information private, and certain information public and I think it should be kept that way.

3.) What does the government (or anyone who's formerly private information is becoming public) have to say about the transparency grenade?

Open Source & FLOSS Questions (Group 7)

1.) Stallman says that copyrights should be able to expire after some time, is this a good idea? Would this solve propriety problems with software?

2.) Source code is understood by human beings, not computers so does that mean when computing source code into machine code, humans will always have an important job? (this is reassuring with all the fear that machines are going to take over)

3.) Kristi Grisbi says that open source software is too risky and unpredictable compared to her own software system, do people think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages in this situation? Otherwise why would people ever even consider using open source if their privacy is exposed?

4.)  Stallman is making money from requesting the source codes from companies and taking their business away from them.. is this even legal?

5.) Stallman says free software is "software that respects your freedom," what exactly does this mean? What defines freedom? Freedom for individuals or groups?

Virtual Communities Questions (Group 5)

Questions for our interview with Mr. Howard Rheingold:

1. How have virtual communities changed since you wrote your book in 1993? you

tell us we must arm ourselves with knowledge and that what happens next with the

internet is completely up to us...

2. You stated that face-to-face interactions are just as important as online

ones. Do you think that in our culture today we are getting to the point where

online interactions are taking the place to face-to-face? What do you think this

means for society?

3. You broached the question "instead of falling under the spell of a sales

pitch, or rejecting new technologies as instruments of illusion, we need to look

closely at new technologies and ask how they could help build stronger, more

humane communities — and how they might be obstacles to that goal.” Do you think

technologies have been able to do so in these past years?

4. A main point we got from your book is that virtual communities are only

virtual in location, but the effect they have on people is very real. would you

say this is still true today? could you make the claim that virtual communities

have in fact become real...?

5. You talked about the idea of web anonymity and the concept of being anyone

that you want to on the web. This is a growing concern nowadays with pedophiles,

liars as well as privacy protection.. do you have any tips on how people can

interact on virtual communities without compromising too much of their own

information? how can we be prepared to protect ourselves from people who are not

who they pretend to be?

6. You touched upon a lot of advantages and disadvantages of the virtual

communities in your book. What would you say are one of the most important

advantages and disadvantages of virtual communities nowadays?

7. What do you think is one of the best or most successful virtual communities

out there today? And why?

8. Do you think virtual communities today are affecting people in more of a

positive way or a negative way?

9. How the heck did you know 20 years ago that this all was going to happen? you

correctly predicted a lot of Internet issues, like service-for-privacy and the

rise of social networks

10. What do you think about facebook giving its users information to companies

for marketing purposes? How do you feel about that? Are you on Facebook yourself

or not?

11. 20 years ago you asked about the future of the internet.. Will it continue

to be largely free and defined by its users, or will government and big business

take control? can you answer this now?

Data Mining and Searching Questions (Group 4)

A Deep Dive into Facebook and Datalogix

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/09/deep-dive-facebook-and-datalogix-whats-actually-getting-shared-and-how-you-can-opt

1.) I know Facebook has a lot of advertisements on the side that say "click here", but what about when users don't use that direct link but still purchase something because of Facebook? How can we make a direct link or measure this?

2.) IS THIS LEGAL?! This is all extremely (what I thought to be) confidential information... It is scary how many things can be monitored that I do that I am completely and utterly unaware of. How am I supposed to feel safe now knowing I am being monitored even when I don't know what I am being monitored for?

3.) We have the constitutional right to privacy... So then why doesn't Datalogix ASK us before giving this information instead of making opting out the exception to the rule? PEOPLE ARE NOT AWARE THIS IS HAPPENING, so how can they possibly know opting out is even an option?

Viral Media & Crowd Sourcing (Group 3)

http://www.neoscenes.net/teach/cu/2012_2/atls2000_mit/pdfs/Bilton-2010-Has_Viral_Gone_Viral.pdf

1.) How can we attribute Chatroulette's exponential growth to the usage of social network sites?

2.) If "the speedy clock of Internet time is running faster than ever," what does that mean for us in the future? What negative or positive things will change because of this?

3.) If everyone has the potential to deliver news at all times, how do we know who is  a trustworthy source? Will we even need newspapers and journalists in the future if everyone is technically a journalist from their smartphone?

IT & Politics Questions (Group 2)

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/social_media/review.pdf

1.) The article talks about how things you post on Facebook can be seen on Twitter or other social networking sites, so couldn't we say that this is a bad thing? It is great that everyone can be so easily connected,  but isn't it also dangerous? These easy linkages could lead to people knowing way too much about your life, especially with the minimal privacy settings. Why are these risks not discussed? Do people not care that strangers can easily access their entire life?

2.) If social media can lead to protests and upheavals, is it possible that this all leads to violence? If one person gets an extremely radical idea and posts it socially, it can escalate into one big chaotic and violent ordeal since they have the support behind them...

3.) I have read a lot about the bans on certain websites and applications or programs in the Middle East, how are the people there coping being cut off from the world? Are they still able to communicate and access information with all the censorship occurring?