Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx

Previous sectionNext section
9.1 Mobile Phones
Years ago, if you were away from your phone or office you had
to look for a pay phone. For a dime, you could make a telephone
call that lasted a few minutes. Pay phones were ubiquitous, with
several often lined up in a row at heavily populated public
places. Sometimes, there was an actual phone booth with a
folding glass door that enabled people to make phone calls in
relative privacy. The comic book hero Superman made these
famous as the place he transformed from Clark Kent to the
superhero. But today, the pay phone and the phone booth are
little more than a memory. Now, calling from the road is as easy
as reaching into your pocket.
Smartphones
One of the most significant new computing devices in the last
few decades is the smartphone. During the 1990s, three major
technological developments gained popularity. First, were cell
phones and their service plans, which became much less
expensive. By the end of the decade, almost everyone had one.
Second, a new type of electronic device emerged at the same
time called the PDA or Personal Digital Assistant. These small,
handheld computers, initially sold by Palm and Visor, offered
calendars, datebooks, organizational software, and gaming
applications. Third, laptops were increasingly able to surf the
Internet, provided their owners could locate a Wi-Fi hotspot. As
email became more essential, laptops were often carried just to
check email. By the end of the 1990s, businessmen and women
were often lugging around all three devices to remain as
productive as possible. Could all three merge into one?
This dream was realized in 2004, when the BlackBerry®

smartphone was introduced for AT&T and T-Mobile cell
service. A smartphone combined the features of a PDA with a
cell phone and the ability to check email. It also served as a
flash drive, media player for music and video, and picture
viewer. And it added a QWERTY keyboard, with keys that were
smaller but laid out in the same configuration as a standard
computer keyboard. Soon, other competitors emerged and
BlackBerry® quickly lost market share, most notably to the
Apple® iPhone®, of which 6 million were sold in 2007, its first
year on the market
(http://www.statista.com/statistics/12743/worldwide-
AppleiPhone-sales-since-3rd-quarter-2007/).
iPhone®
Apple®'s eagerly awaited iPhone® capitalized on the huge
following it had established with its iPod® handheld music and
video players and Macintosh® computers. Duplicating the same
elegance and user-friendliness with its iPhone®, Apple® began
to dominate the market, as its iPhone® App Store℠ enabled
users to download applications that fit their own unique needs.
TIME™ Magazine named it as the invention of the year in 2007.
In 2009, the iPhone® 3.0 included a camera, 3G connection
speeds, and voice control. At the same time, Apple® also
improved the iPhone®'s GPS functionality. In 2012, the
iPhone® 4S came in 16- to 64-GB memory options, with prices
between $199 and $399. At 4.5 in. tall, and 2.3 in. wide, it
weighed just 4.9 ounces and was .37 in. in depth. With Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth™ wireless, and 4G cellular connection speeds, it
transferred data quickly. It also introduced human-like interface
with Siri®, which attempted to answer voice commands by the
user (http://www.apple.com/iphone/).
A Closer Look: The iPhone®
Do you have an iPhone®? What do you like and dislike about it

compared to other smartphones?
To see how Siri® works, visit this site:
http://www.apple.com/ios/s
In 2013, the iPhone® 5 is the latest in the fast-evolving line of
Apple® phones. You can learn about it here:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/
Android™
While the iPhone® was making headlines, the executives at
Google began planning their own revolutionary announcement.
In 2005, Google purchased the developer of a mobile operating
system called Android™. In 2007, it began releasing the
Android™ code to developers, and with phones manufactured
by HTC and with Verizon as its carrier, Google capitalized on
its huge Web-based following as a search engine. By 2010, it
earned the distinction of having the world's most used
smartphone platform (Tecca, 2012). Today, it is the operating
system for millions of phones (popular ones include HTC and
Samsung Galaxy® series), tablets, and related computing
devices (http://www.android.com/about/).
Windows®
Microsoft® also is a major player in the smartphone
competition. With a Windows® operating system, a variety of
manufacturers offer Windows® smartphones, including:
Samsung Focus 2, Nokia Lumia 900, HTC Titan II, and LG
Quantum.
It boasts a simplified design with the use of Live Tiles (this is
similar to the Windows® 8 operating system for tablet and
desktop computers). Live Tiles allows the user to personalize
the start screen by placing any applications, photos, games,

songs, websites, or documents they want. These items will
update automatically in real time, allowing the user to get the
latest information on the items they are following
(http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/features).
Smart Cards
Phones are not the only "smart" devices out there. There is also
an emerging technology called the smart card, which looks like
a credit card, but has an embedded processor that replaced the
magnetic strip used for identification purposes in traditional
credit cards. The processor also has a memory so that data about
the owner can be stored. A smart card can be swiped in a smart
card reader in much the same way as a credit card, but it can
also communicate through a radio frequency interface. Smart
cards are currently more popular in Europe than the United
States; for example, every German citizen carries a smart card
containing information for medical purposes. The smart card
can do many things that a credit card cannot. The Smart Card
Alliance (http://www.smartcardalliance.org/) is a nonprofit
group working to promote the use of this technology in areas
such as electronic monitoring, finance, government, health care,
identity, telecommunications, and transportation.
The smart card is very different from the magnetic stripe card,
which is in wide usage today. These do not have an embedded
computer processor, but they are "smart" because they contain
data encoded with iron particles on the back of the card. These
are used in hotels for access to rooms, ATM cards, credit cards,
driver's licenses, and many other areas.
GPS
One of the powerful tools that many mobile devices have is
GPS. GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System, a
network of satellites (24 of them), computers, and receivers that

can work together to calculate your exact position on earth
(latitude, longitude, and altitude). This is achieved by
triangulation, or comparing the time it takes for a signal to
reach three different satellites. The Department of Defense built
this revolutionary technology at a cost of $12 billion and it was
originally intended primarily for military use. However, GPS in
nonmilitary applications first appeared as turn-by-turn
navigational aids in automobiles in 1990. Apple® made GPS a
central feature of the 3.0 version of its iPhone®. This meant
that you could hold the phone in your hand and look at exactly
where you were walking on either a drawn map or from a
satellite view. GPS is now showing up on tablet computers.
Who knows, in the future, being "lost" might become an old-
fashioned idea! If you are walking around with a smartphone
that's guiding you with its GPS, would it be possible to
"augment" your experience with real-time data? Yes indeed.
Augmented Reality
To augment means to increase or improve. How could a
smartphone improve your own reality? Augmented reality is a
term used to define a new smartphone experience in which GPS
data is combined with a vast database of information about your
current location. Imagine this scenario. You are walking around
Times Square in Manhattan for the first time, and you are a
little lost. You take out your smartphone and enter the
augmented reality mode, which begins to ease your fears. First,
when you aim your smartphone at various buildings, it tells you
about each of them.
Google cofounder Sergey Brin wears Google Glass™ glasses.
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Here, Google cofounder Sergey Brin wears Google Glass™
glasses. Would you use Google Glass™ glasses? Why or why
not?
Once you are comfortable with your bearings, you realize you

are hungry. You speak a command into the phone, such as
"nearest pizza." In the blink of an eye, directions to the closest
pizza shops appear on your screen, along with user reviews and
recommendations. You follow your smartphone to the front door
of a nearby restaurant. You sit down at a booth and enjoy a slice
of authentic New York pizza while observing the view of the
busy street outside. You smile, take a picture of yourself, and
upload your photo and GPS coordinates to Facebook. Your
friends, who are also lost several blocks away, now can easily
track you down. While you wait and enjoy your pizza, you use
your smartphone to purchase theater tickets, reserve a room for
the night, and email your parents that you are having a fabulous
time. You have just augmented your reality. The future is near
at hand, and so is your trusty smartphone.
Google Glass™ is one example of this technology that can
augment your reality. This is a standard pair of glasses with a
camera at the top with a transparent cube. The idea is that it can
display maps and information as you are walking around town.
Interaction occurs via your own voice, and when you are talking
on the phone, you can share what you are seeing at that moment.
Google calls this Project Glass (http://g.co/projectglass).
9.2 Tablets and Touch Screens
If you have ever gone shopping to purchase a car, you have
certainly noticed that all automobiles are not made alike. As
you walked around the dealership, it was clear that there were
significant differences in price, color, size, speed, and fuel
efficiency. Ultimately, though, the cars all had four tires and
were designed to get you and your cargo from point A to point
B. Computers are similar in the sense that while all of them
have common functions (communication and processing data),
they come in different shapes and styles. We have already
talked about desktop, laptop, notebook, and netbook computers.
Now, we are ready to explore a final type—the tablet.

Today, the device that garners the most attention is the tablet
computer. This is a thin, flat device in which the user
communicates through touching a flat surface. This includes
typing on a QWERTY keyboard (digitally represented on the
screen) and swiping for such interactions as moving items or
turning a page of a book. Pinching the screen with two fingers
lets you easily zoom in and out. Tablets are powerful computers
that combine portability with ease of use and operation. Major
players in this market include the pioneering efforts of Apple®
with its iPad®, followed by Amazon's Kindle Fire, Barnes &
Noble's Nook® Tablet, Google's Nexus 7™, and Microsoft®'s
Surface. Asus®, Sony®, and Samsung's Galaxy® are currently
manufacturers of significant Android™ tablet computers.
What Is a Tablet Computer?
The best way to define a tablet computer is to compare it to
other devices. A tablet computer, or a slate, is a portable
computer that combines the mobility of a laptop with the touch
screen of a smartphone. It is larger than a cell phone and
therefore, has a bigger screen, greater memory, and a faster
processor. It does not have the physical keyboard found in the
laptop, but instead when data entry is required, a virtual
keyboard appears on the screen. Since the screen is touch-
sensitive, each letter is registered when you lightly touch it.
This takes some getting used to, since there is no physical
sensation of a key actually being depressed (Parsons & Oja,
2010, p. 59). Although tablet computers have dominated the
news of late, they have actually been around for a long time.
Tablet computers have many uses—and users. For example,
delivery drivers (most notably UPS) and service technicians use
them to record the results of their work, such as dropping off a
package or making a repair. These computers have replaced the
old paper, pencil, and clipboard. The tablet computer is
connected to the Internet so that information is immediately

processed and made available. Figure 9.1 shows more
information on who uses tablets and what for.
Figure 9.1: Tablet Users
Source: "Tablet Ownership 2013." Pew Research Center's
Internet & American Life Project. 24 June 2013. Retrieved
from: http:// pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Tablet-Ownership-
2013.aspx "Understanding Tablet Use: A Multi-Method
Exploration." Google, Inc. October 2012. Retrieved from:
http://pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2013/PIP_Tablet
%20ownership%202013.pdf
Tablet use is on the rise, and the majority of tablet users are
college graduates who earn $75,000 or more a year. Tablets are
often used for social networking and to check email.
History of the Tablet Computer
The idea of a flat, tablet computer dates back to the 1980s.
Originally, engineers sought to develop a way for people to
write on portable screens with a special stylus. The tablet would
translate handwriting into computer text. One of the first tablets
was the Apple® Newton. It was announced with great hype and
fanfare in the late 1980s, but it was a market failure because it
was too expensive and did not provide the functionality it
promised. But the tablet idea did not die. In the early 1990s,
many people thought the electronic pen would come to rival the
importance of the mouse as an input device. Microsoft® created
Windows® for Pen Computing, and IBM® introduced its
ThinkPad, which was originally a pen-based system. Bill Gates
continued to be a strong proponent of this device and introduced
a Tablet PC in 2000 (Cowart & Knittel, 2008, p. 1357). Despite
the push from companies like Apple® and Microsoft®, these
early tablet computers were not as successful as hoped. They
were not necessarily failures, either, if you see them as an
evolutionary step in moving computing away from the desktop
and toward the handheld world that we have today (Bennis &

Gibson, 1998, p. 85). When you think of it this way, the Newton
was the precursor to the e-reader.
e-Reader
The next, and far more successful stage in tablet-like computing
devices, was the e-reader. These devices mimic a book in that
they allow the user to read downloadable content such as books
and magazines. Currently, the Amazon Kindle
(http://www.kindle.com) has captured a significant share of this
market. It is as thin as a magazine at 1/3 of an inch thick, and
lighter than a paperback at 10.2 ounces. The initial versions did
not use Wi-Fi at all, but instead used 3G wireless (cell phone
service that enables connectivity to the Internet) to download
content. Amazon called this Whispernet, and it used the Sprint
EVDO cell system in the United States. Although you had to
pay for the content (such as books, magazines, and newspapers),
the wireless connection was free and much more accessible than
Wi-Fi hot spots. Anywhere you used your cell phone, the Kindle
could download a book in about 60 seconds.
Now, all of the Kindle versions also include Wi-Fi. For
example, the Kindle Paperwhite 3G has Wi-Fi and the free cell
tower connectivity. It has a backlit display and an 8-week
battery life. The 6-inch display (larger models are available) is
amazingly similar to the look of real paper (using its E Ink
technology), and is not affected by glare like a laptop. An e-
reader can hold about 1,500 books in its internal memory. All of
the books are also stored in your own personal library in
Amazon's computers, so even if your Kindle is lost or broken,
your books are forever safe. Another unique feature of the
Kindle is its experimental Web browser that lets you check your
email for free.
The Kindle can read PDF and Word files, and is now being
integrated into online education courses so you can take your

electronic books with you (as you may be doing with this book
on digital literacy). In May 2009, Kindle announced that it
would offer textbooks from major publishers, and began running
pilot programs at Arizona State, Case Western Reserve
University, Pace University, and Princeton. Using the Kindle
reduces textbook costs and also is more environmentally
conscious because e-books require no paper (U.S. News and
World Report, 2009).
There was an important legal case regarding price fixing and e-
books. The problem was that some publishers agreed to fix e-
book prices. As of May 2012, Simon & Shuster, Hachette, and
HarperCollins have reached agreements with the states suing
them (Mello, 2012).
Just as smartphones did for the cell phone industry, the iPad®
changed the game for the future of tablet devices.
iPad®
In early 2010, Steve Jobs of Apple® announced the arrival of a
"magical and revolutionary product" called the iPad® (Sutter &
Gross, 2010). It was the next generation of the tablet computer,
which Jobs promised would do for the tablet computer industry
what the iPhone® had done for the cell phone industry. There
were cell phones before the iPhone® and there were tablets
before the iPad®, but the Apple® ingenuity and aesthetics
promised to redefine the playing field.
iPad® and iPad® mini comparison.
AP Photo/M. Spencer Green
Here, a full size Apple® iPad® 4th generation is compared to a
new Apple® iPad® mini. Do you have an iPad®? How do you
use it?
Continuing the "i" naming strategy (from the iPod® music
player and iPhone® before it), the iPad® has several important

features, including a 9.7-inch Retina display, which boasts 3
million pixels. A nice aspect of its touchpad is that it can
register multiple touches at the same time. This means you can
enter key combinations (such as CTRL–C for copy, or shift A
for a capital letter). The iPad® is less than half an inch thick
(.37 inches) and weighs only 1.44 pounds—an ideal screen size
for browsing the Web, reading e-books and newspapers,
watching movies, and responding to email. It is 9.5 in. tall and
7.31 in. wide. It connects to the Internet with Wi-Fi and
wireless connectivity through a cell phone plan. But it is also
suited for productivity applications such as Word and Excel®.
With a 10-hour battery life, it is a good companion for road
trips or airplane rides (http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/).
A newer and smaller version is called the iPad® mini. It boasts
most all of the same features as the larger version, but is more
compact with a 7.9-inch screen (http://www.apple.com/ipad-
mini/overview/).
iPad® Significance
The iPad® is not just a tablet computer; its introduction affects
other industries as well. As the paper-based newspaper business
continues to struggle in many cities, existing papers are looking
for new revenue streams in the world of computing. One source
has been advertisements in electronic versions available on the
Web. But one of the important ways that people have read
newspapers is on the go, and the iPad® seems to be a perfect
device for a marriage of the newspaper with the electronic
world. The large screen allows images and text to be displayed,
and in theory, people will be willing to pay for the daily
electronic delivery of the local and national news in this format.
Ultimately, you, the consumer, will determine the future success
of the tablet computer by placing votes with your purchasing
dollars. Those purchasing dollars for tablets are now divided

between Apple® and its competitors.
Android™ Tablet
Among the Apple® tablets, there are now a variety of others on
the market, which run on the Android™ operating system. The
main difference is that while Apple®'s iOS is a closed system,
Google's Android™ is open source. This means that it opens the
doors to many hardware companies that want to venture into the
tablet market.
As of June 2013, CNet provided the following list of the best
Android™ tablets (Franklin, 2013):
Google Nexus 7™
Google Nexus 10
Samsung Galaxy® Note 8
Asus® Transformer Pad TF700
Asus® Transformer Pad TF300
Sony® Xperia Tablet Z
Samsung Galaxy® Note 10.1
Fire and Nook®
This is a highly competitive market and there are two examples
of a blending of tablets and e-readers.
Two examples of Android™ tablets are the Kindle Fire and the
Barnes & Noble Nook®. The Kindle Fire, initially released at
the end of 2011, has a 7-inch color touch screen that can display
16 million colors in high resolution. With built-in Wi-Fi, it can
access the Internet and search the Web quickly with the Amazon
Silk browser. It has an app store and access to the millions of
books sold by Amazon. Owners can purchase Amazon Prime,
which gives them access to over 100,000 movie and TV
programs. Finally, Amazon has developed a "lending library" in
which users can borrow one book a month for free from a

selection of over 145,000 (http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-
Amazon-Tablet/dp/B0051VVOB2). In late 2012, Kindle
released a new Kindle Fire HD with an 8.9-inch display. This
device is more of a direct competitor against the iPad®.
The Barnes & Noble Nook® is the primary competitor for the
Fire because they are similarly sized and priced. In 2009, the
bookstore chain announced the development of the Nook® e-
reader (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/nook/379003208).
Two years later, it released the Nook® Color, and in April
2012, partnered with Microsoft®. The Nook® Color is similar
to the Kindle Fire with books, apps, Web browsing, and videos
also viewable with its brilliant 7-inch color display. It can be
difficult for a customer to select between the two. The Nook®
also comes in a larger HD version now, which is similar in size
to the Kindle Fire HD (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/nook-
hd-plus-barnes-noble/1110060512).
Which is better, the Fire, Nook®, or iPad® mini? Ultimately,
the choice is yours based on the plans you have for the use of
the devic
9.3 Artificial Intelligence
If you have a smartphone, have you ever wondered if it was
really "smart"? Does it have intelligence? Is it thinking while
you are using it? The goal of many computer scientists since the
mid-20th century has been to create a computer that could
perform logical operations so well that it could actually learn
and become sentient or conscious. The effort to achieve this is
called artificial intelligence, or AI. In this section, we will
explore some of the historical attempts to realize this dream,
analyze the current state of the field, and (in keeping with the
theme of this chapter) ponder what the future holds for AI.
What Is Intelligence?

Intelligence is a complicated notion that can be difficult to
define. A typical dictionary definition might suggest that it is
the "capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar
forms of mental activity," but the more you think about the
concept, the more difficult it is to define. The 17th-century
philosopher Descartes famously said, "Cogito ergo sum," which
is Latin for "I think, therefore I am." In other words, thinking,
intelligence, and self-awareness were the measure of what it
meant to have existence.
This makes sense, but logic and intelligence can become more
difficult to define when we are talking about a machine.
Consider this classic question: which is more accurate, an
analog clock (one with moving hands) that is broken, or a
digital clock (one with numbers) that eternally loses one second
every day? An intelligent human might say that certainly the
digital clock is best because he or she could easily approximate
the correct time. However, an "intelligent" computer might
approach this question with an entirely different logic. The
computer might select the broken analog clock. Why? It would
say that the analog clock is EXACTLY correct twice each day,
and that the digital clock will be correct only once every 236
years. Therefore, the broken clock is more "accurate" from this
perspective. The intuitive answer is the digital clock because it
provides an approximation of truth. In a literal, logical sense,
the analog clock is more correct. This question demonstrates
how difficult it can be to define what is intelligent and what is
not. Who is exhibiting more intelligence, the computer or the
human?
Turing Test
Along with the birth of the modern computer in the 20th century
came the idea, hope, and dream that one day these machines
might become intelligent. One of the first people to consider the

philosophical implications of intelligent machines was
mathematician Alan Turing. In 1937, he developed a thought
experiment that he called a Turing Machine. With it, in 1950, he
proposed his Turing Test, which he believed could prove
whether or not a computer was intelligent. The experiment went
like this: a judge begins communicating with a person hidden
behind one curtain and a computer hidden behind another. If the
judge cannot tell the difference between the real person and the
computer, then the computer is considered to be intelligent. The
Turing Test became a founding concept in the philosophy of
artificial intelligence (Leavitt, 2006).
I, Robot
Robot holding flowers in front of Karel Capek statue.
AP Photo/CTK/Michal Dolezal
A robot brings flowers to the bust of Karel Capek, the Czech
playwright who first coined the term "robot." How can you tell
whether or not a robot or other machine has artificial
intelligence?
The same year that Turing proposed his famous test, science
fiction author Isaac Asimov popularized his "Three Rules of
Robotics." The term robot dates back to 1923, when Karel
Capek first coined it in his play called R. U. R. (Rossum's
Universal Robots). From that point on, the word robot meant a
computer that looked and acted like a human. By 1950, with
advances in computers and Turing's work in artificial
intelligence, Asimov began considering the implications of
smart machines in his book I, Robot. His Three Laws are as
follows (White, 2005, p. 55):
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction,
allow a human being to come to harm.
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except
where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such

protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.
Although Asimov initially proposed these laws in a short story
titled "Runaround" in the 1940s, it was a decade later in his
Foundation Trilogy that they became another cornerstone of
artificial intelligence. Intelligent computers would not become
monsters that ravaged society like Dr. Frankenstein's creation
did. There would be nothing to fear if these laws were
embedded within each machine. It was an optimistic decade, in
part because of the success that programmers were having with
expert systems.
Expert Systems
Actually, in the early 1950s, the term artificial intelligence had
not been coined yet. This would not happen until 1956, when
John McCarthy first proposed it. Herbert Simon and others
demonstrated the first working AI software program, known as
Logic Theorist (McCorduck, 2004, p. xxvii). Soon,
programmers were developing software that could perform
limited reasoning tasks brilliantly, such as playing the game of
chess. Many predicted that real human intelligence would soon
be achieved on the computer, but this did not happen. Broad
language skills and natural intelligence proved more difficult to
emulate than was originally thought.
Instead of trying to duplicate human intelligence, programmers
limited themselves to expert systems, or computers and
programs that contained extensive amounts of information in a
specialized field. One of the first was a computer that could
perform a medical diagnosis. If a doctor entered symptoms into
a computer, it would pose other questions to ask and eventually
make a diagnosis of the patient's condition. Examples included
expert systems known as MYCIN and Internist. MYCIN could
diagnose bacterial infections, while Internist helped physicians
identify infectious blood diseases (Nikolopoulos, 1997, p. 3).
One of the most advanced expert systems was IBM®'s Deep

Blue, which in 1997, was able to beat Garry Kasparov, the
world's highest ranking chess player, in a series of six matches.
Watson on Jeopardy
Another example of an expert system was an IBM® computer
named Watson who competed against real people on television
episodes of Jeopardy. Watson is a question and answer machine,
which reads human language and presents answers to questions
from its database. Remarkably, the computer was victorious.
Ken Jennings, one of the Watson competitors (and who was
famous himself for a 74-game Jeopardy winning streak)
proclaimed humorously when he lost, "I, for one, welcome our
new computer overlords." The New York Times claimed that the
win was not "trivial," but a significant turning point. The article
stated that it was "proof that the company has taken a big step
toward a world in which intelligent machines will understand
and respond to humans, and perhaps inevitably, replace some of
them" (Markoff, 2011).
However, Watson was not perfect by any means. One question
was: "Its largest airport is named for a World War II hero; its
second largest for a World War II battle." Watson's answer was
Toronto. Keep in mind that the question category was U.S.
cities, and Toronto is in Canada. Watson's answer received
some laughs from the audience. Nevertheless, the victory was,
according to some, vindication that the entire field of artificial
intelligence was progressing.
Watson the Robot: Landslide Victor
An IBM computer named Watson competes against human
contestants on the Jeopardy! quiz show. Do you think that
computers will ever be able to think as well as humans do?
Human/Technological Convergence
AI and computers are impacting human life in many ways. One

is a technological convergence with the human body to augment
our physical capabilities. While you might think this is a
futuristic idea, human/technological convergence has been in
existence for centuries. In the simplest way, think of very old
technologies like eyeglasses or even large horns as hearing aids.
Today, these have been replaced by retina implants and
implanted hearing devices.
The future has even more remarkable ideas coming. In
November 2012, Wired magazine reported on the possibility of
thought-controlled robotic arms. With volunteers trying out the
new appendages in early 2013, it promises a revolution in
enabling humans to mimic biology and more seamlessly meld
human and technology together. The inventor, Max Ortiz
Catalan, said, "Our technology helps amputees to control an
artificial limb, in much the same way as their own biological
hand or arm, via the person's own nerves and remaining
muscles" (Clark, 2012).
The medical field is certainly one area where you should expect
to see more of this convergence. There are Computer Assisted
Surgeries (CAS) in which complex imaging helps the surgeon
navigate the body. Another example is surgery that takes place
with a robot without the direct control of a human. These robots
excel in performing very precise repetitive movements better
than a human surgeon ("Robotic Surgery," n.d.).
A Look Further: Robotic Surgery
Learn more about robotic surgery by visiting:
http://www.robotic-surgery.med.nyu.edu/for-patients/what-
robotic-surgery
Technology Today: Artificial Intelligence and Robots
Scientists have made great strides in the field of robotics and

artificial intelligence, but they have yet to come close to
developing the human-like robots that science fiction fans are
accustomed to seeing. That's because creating machines that can
replicate the way humans move and think is much more difficult
than it might seem.
Manufacturers have employed robots for decades, but most of
them are still little more than large mechanical arms that are
programmed to move parts from one place to another. These
robots can work faster and for longer periods of time than
humans, just as computers outperform humans at rote tasks like
solving math problems.
What robots and computers still lack, however, is the ability to
reason and make decisions on their own. Scientists specializing
in artificial intelligence have succeeded in giving computers
what appears to be a certain amount of decision-making ability.
For instance, computer programs are widely used to render
decisions in the financial services industry. These programs use
what is known as neural network technology to evaluate the
information of individuals applying for credit—their age,
occupation, income, past credit history—and determine whether
they are a good or bad risk. But these programs don't decide
what information is relevant to this analysis, nor do they
determine on their own what constitutes a good or bad risk.
Expert Systems
Computer programmers consult with humans who have years of
experience in making such decisions and then write programs
that allow computers to mimic those experts' thought processes
when evaluating data.
Such programs, also referred to as expert systems, are used in a
number of fields. Some hospitals use them to diagnose certain
medical conditions based on a patient's vital signs (heart rate,

blood pressure, and so forth). Manufacturing companies use
expert systems to cut operating costs by teaching them to
recognize when production machines need preventive
maintenance.
Scientists continue to study the process by which the human
brain acquires and adapts to new information in hopes of
eventually creating computers or robots that actually can think
and reason on their own.
A team of researchers in Wales created a robot called Adam that
conducts its own scientific experiments. "It can think of
hypotheses and then do the experiments, and we've checked that
it's got the results correct," Ross King, one of the researchers,
told Reuters News (RedOrbit.com, 2009). In 2012, the
Bioinformatics Group at Aberystwyth University said, "The
Robot Scientist is perhaps the first physical implementation of
the task of Scientific Discovery in a microbiology laboratory. It
represents the merging of increasingly automated and remotely
controllable laboratory equipment and knowledge discovery
techniques from Artificial Intelligence" ("Artificially Intelligent
Robot," n.d.).
A Robot Astronaut
Robonaut 2 in International Space Station.
NASA
Robonaut 2 in International Space Station.
Meanwhile, scientists from NASA and General Motors have
developed a robot that can be used in both the automotive and
aerospace industries. Robonaut 2, nicknamed R2, is the second
generation of a robot that NASA started working on with the
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency—the same agency
that created the Internet.
The first generation Robonaut, as its name implies, was
intended to be a robot astronaut. Robonaut 2 has a distinct

humanoid appearance, but it's likely to log more time building
cars than exploring outer space. It can lift 20 pounds with each
arm, about four times that of other humanoid robots, according
to NASA. Its nimble hands, fingers, and opposable thumbs also
enable it to use the same tools normally used by humans.
In addition to employing it in the car assembly process, GM
officials expect to borrow technology used to create Robonaut
2's controls, sensors, and vision systems to develop advanced
safety systems in future vehicles (Lombardi, 2010).
Links for More Information
Follow R2 at the official NASA website:
http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/default.asp
View images taken by NASA:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasarobonaut/
Can Machines Think?
Can machines think? In part, the answer depends on how we
define these three simple words (Nilsson, 2002, p. 2). Begin
with the word can. If by can we mean someday in the future,
then the answer is yes, that is quite possible. But if we mean,
"Can machines think right now?" as in having broad enough
intellectual powers to pass the Turing Test, then the answer is
no. The second word is machines. If by machine we mean the
computer on your desk, then no, a machine cannot think. It
might appear to, based upon clever programming techniques and
massive processing power, but it will not attain self-awareness
and one day suddenly suggest to you, "I think, therefore I am."
The final word is think. Again, there are two ways to look at
this. If by think we mean a computer with the language skills to
pass the Turing Test, then no, machines cannot think. However,
if by think we mean a computer with enough expert knowledge
to beat any human on the face of the earth in a game of chess,

and even in Jeopardy, then yes, machines can think. Ultimately,
the answer to this question depends on how you choose to
define your terms.
Simulations
One of the final aspects of the future of computing that we will
consider is simulation. Though not necessarily a part of
artificial intelligence, a simulation, at its simplest level, is
copying some aspect of real life and portraying that experience
on a computer. You might also hear the term virtual reality to
describe a simulation. Virtual reality is the use of computers to
create a simulated environment that has an illusion of reality
and immerses you in the experience. Computer simulations and
virtual realities are used in a number of different ways. In the
gaming world, you can find simulations of sporting activities
such as golf and billiards. Advanced motion controls, like those
found with the Nintendo Wii™, Xbox®, and other gaming
consoles, add to the simulated experience by letting you swing
your arm in a game of tennis while you watch the simulated
character on the screen imitate your movement.
But simulations are not just for fun and games. Simulation can
solve real-world problems, analyze real-world systems, and ask
what-if questions about life (Banks, 1998). There are many
serious applications, including pilots using simulation for flight
training with programs such as Microsoft® Flight Simulator. If
you want to learn how to drive a bus, the first step in your
training might not be sitting behind the steering wheel but
instead sitting in front of a computer monitor. For example, a
program released in 2010 simulates various aspects of operating
a city bus. You become "Carlos," a professional bus driver, and
are taught the intricacies of the job. The simulation includes
driving around town, operating animated wipers under rain
conditions, using the wheelchair lift, dealing with computer-
generated AI traffic, assisting virtual passengers, and driving

through a virtual Times Square. The program attempts to
"simulate real driving behavior" to train the next generation of
drivers.
With the popularity of programs like this one, we may find that
many of our future experiences become simulations. As
simulations improve in features, it is possible that the
distinction between what is real and what is simulated will
begin to become increasingly difficult to make.
Virtualized Servers
There is a related trend, though not quite as exciting as bus
driving simulations, in which computer servers are
"virtualized." These replace physical hardware servers and are
becoming a formidable force in the future. One example is
VMware (http://www.vmware.com/), with the letter VM
standing for virtual machine. Other examples are Microsoft®'s
HyperVisor and Citrix Xen. While these have server
virtualizations, they can also can virtualize the desktop in which
simple computer terminals give the appearance that they are
stand-alone PCs. In reality, they are virtualized because the
environment (screen icons, programs, data, etc.) are all stored
remotely on a server. And where are these remote servers
actually located? In the cloud.
9.4 The Clouds Are Here
As we approach the end of your journey into digital literacy, we
must select a destination. This is difficult because computers
evolve and change so quickly. But, since our final subject is the
future of computing, we will conclude with what most believe is
the computing shape of the future. That notion is cloud
computing, which at its most basic level is the replacement of
all personal computers with "dumb" terminals that have no
software or complex operating systems on them. Instead, these

terminals connect to a World Wide Web in which applications
reside alongside your data. But this is the extreme case, and
now cloud computing is integrating itself as a way to store and
access data from smartphones, tablet computers, laptops, and
desktops. And, it is not just data that resides in the cloud, but
even applications can exist there. In fact, you might be already
using some.
What Is Cloud Computing?
Devices connected to the cloud.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
In cloud computing, applications and data are housed online,
rather than on your computer. What cloud applications do you
currently use? How do they compare to your computer-based
programs?
You already have some experience with cloud computing. In
Section 5 of Chapter 7, we discussed Google's Gmail™. We can
use that example here to illustrate some of the key concepts of
the cloud. First of all, the cloud is a metaphor for the space on
the Internet that can be used to store your data, as well as
applications to manipulate it. The Gmail™ application exists
online, and to use it, all you need is a connection to the Internet
and a browser. Likewise, all of your email is stored in the
Google databases as well, rather than on your own personal
computer. If you recall, this is a significant departure from the
way in which Microsoft® Outlook®'s desktop email program
works. With Outlook®, the software application and your email
reside on your computer and nowhere else. Therefore, Outlook®
operates on your computer (as a reminder this is not to be
confused with outlook.com, which is Microsoft®'s cloud-based
email system, along with hotmail.com®), while Gmail™
operates in a cloud because that is where all of your email
exists, as well as the application to view, send, and receive it.
The Advantages of the Cloud

Google and other software companies are building operating
systems that exist online rather than on your computer. This
would make your computer very quick to turn on because there
would be no complex operating system to boot up. When you
pressed the power button, the only thing the computer would
need to do would be to connect to the Internet. So, startup time
would be measured in seconds rather than minutes.
Another advantage of cloud computing is that it would make
computer viruses and malware almost nonexistent. The virus
protection would take place at the cloud level, and would not be
the responsibility of the individual user. As long as the cloud
was protected—and the cloud engineers could have teams
devoted just to this function—all of the data residing within it
would be immune to attack.
A third advantage is that your programs and data would be
available no matter where you were, and on any computer in
front of you (as long as there was an Internet connection). If
you went to your work computer, all of your data would be
accessible there. It would also be at your computer at home, at
the computer terminals at the library, or at any hotel that you
visited while on vacation. This would also give you a measure
of protection, because if your computer at home died while you
were writing a paper for school, your work would not be lost. It
would still be safely resting in a cloud. You could just go over
to your neighbor's house and finish your work there.
Fourth, you would never have to install or update software
again. You would simply pay for it once and access it online.
Whoever wrote the application would be responsible for
updating it, and the next time you logged on, it would be there
for you to use. Finally, one of the most important advantages of
cloud computing is collaboration and sharing. If you shared
your access code with people whom you allowed to have access

to your data (such as other students working on a project,
family members planning a reunion, or coworkers on a project),
then all of you could access, share, and edit the documents in
the cloud.
The Disadvantages of a Cloud
Some suggest that while the cloud is good for limited
applications such as email, it could never alone represent the
future of personal computing for several reasons. First, many
programs are simply too complex and powerful to be operated
effectively online. For example, graphics programs or games
with computation-heavy, 3-D rendered worlds need to be run on
a personal computer in order for them to be effective. The
second disadvantage is privacy. With all of your data on
someone else's computers, how certain can you be that no one
else is spying on what you are doing? The third disadvantage is
that if you do not have Internet access, your computer is
worthless, and you are unable to access your data. Although the
Web follows us almost everywhere we go these days, it is not
everywhere that we want it to be, and sometimes access is a
problem. It would be very inconvenient if we could not use our
computers in such cases.
Finally, Internet outages would bring productivity in a cloud to
a standstill (Velte, Velte, & Elsenpeter, 2010). There have been
some notable cloud outages in the past and InfoWorld discussed
the "10 worst cloud outages." Number one on the list was when
"Amazon Web Services goes poof." This occurred in April 2011
when a routine configuration change caused a problem at
Amazon's Northern Virginia data center. The result, according
to InfoWorld, was that the system went "totally nutso." A series
of problems had spiraled out of control, eventually shutting
down most of Amazon's data centers in the eastern United
States. The outage lasted for four days, and while no data was
lost, access was suspended (Raphael, 2011).

On Christmas Eve 2012, Amazon Web Services (AWS) had a
huge outage that significantly affected Netflix. As a Wall Street
Journal reporter later claimed, the lesson from this was that
"Any company can fail" (Schectman, 2012).
Despite these problems, enthusiasm for clouds is still on the
rise. As you might guess, Amazon is not alone in the clouds.
Google's Cloud Storage™ Service
Google is a significant player in the realm of clouds. The
company not only uses its cloud for its Gmail™, but also its
Web-based applications ranging from Internet searching to
Google Books™. As we discussed in the last chapter, Google's
Drive™ is an important location for storing your files of data
and this is a cloud-based storage system. It is hard to know how
large the Google cloud (http://cloud.google.com/) really is, but
by some estimates, it consists of hundreds of thousands of
inexpensive servers (some suggest this number is a million) that
store all of Google's data (and yours, too). Google estimates
that over 1 million applications run on a Google Cloud
Platform. Also, it has entire copies of the Web. Unlike the large
mainframe computers of the past, the cloud has an impressive
feature because it never grows old. A team of engineers and
technicians monitor it, and when one of the servers dies (every
few years), it is simply removed and replaced by a new one. The
entire cloud seems to grow and regenerate more like a living
being than an aging machine. Although Google and others have
used this type of data system since the 1990s, it was not until
2008 that the term cloud computing was used to define it. Soon,
people began to realize that this might be the wave (or the
cloud) of the future that would define how a majority of
computers operate (Malone, 2009, p. 112).
Google suggests that the following are the main reasons to use

its cloud (https://cloud.google.com/).
Archive and back up data.
Store application data.
Compute at Google Scale.
Share data with friends and business partners.
Analyze large amounts of data with Google BigQuery Service.
Build apps and websites.
iCloud® cloud computing service icon on an iPhone® 4G
screen, and Apple® website on iPad®.
Iain Masterton/age fotostock/SuperStock
Apple®'s iCloud® service, which is built into every Apple®
device. How might the cloud change the way we use
smartphones, music players, and tablets?
Google has a number of other cloud applications you can use in
addition to Gmail™ and Google Drive™. Its Google Docs™ and
Spreadsheets applications emulate Word and Excel®, although
the application itself is nowhere to be found on your computer.
The software is located on Google's servers, so whenever there
is an update, the users do not have to reinstall or upgrade their
software. The other benefit of Google Docs™ and Spreadsheets
is that they are collaborative tools that can be shared with
anyone who has an Internet connection, and the creator can
access them from any computer. This also has a nice backup
safety feature in that your data are not tied to one hard drive
that might fail.
Apple®'s Cloud
Apple has recently made a significant push into the cloud,
called the iCloud®. It stores and provides the user access to a
number files such as documents, contact information, images,
and music. The iCloud® is also now built into Apple® devices
such as the iPhone®, iPad® and the Mac®
(http://www.apple.com/iphone/icloud/). What this means for the
Apple® user is that the iCloud® is now integrated into all

Apple® apps and allows users to sync music, apps, and pictures
over multiple devices, including Apple® TV, iPad®, iPhone®s,
and Mac® computing systems. This includes the following:
iTunes®
Documents
Apps
Calendar, Contacts, and Mail:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/icloud/
iBooks®
Photo Stream
Backup data
Find my iPhone®
Passbook®
A Look Further: The iCloud®
You can watch this video to learn more about it:
http://www.apple.com/icloud/#video
Microsoft®'s Cloud
With the latest release of the Windows® 8 operating system,
Microsoft® is also establishing a presence in the cloud. One
important way it is doing this is with SkyDrive®. In August
2012, the company announced that its SkyDrive® passed the
preview stage to become operational. Located at skydrive.com,
it organizes all users' documents and enables access with all
associated Windows® 8 operating systems and Windows®
phones. Also working with Windows® 7, it provides all users
with an immediate 7 GB of data (McDougall, 2012).
PC World recently published an article stating that there were
five main reasons why SkyDrive® was better than Google
Drive™. First, was that it has more free storage (7 GB to
Google's 2 GB). Second, it has deeper support of Microsoft®
document formats. Third, it has better mobile support (for the

moment). Fourth, it has better pricing (such as $30 per year for
an extra 25 GB). Finally, SkyDrive® also works seamlessly
with Mac® iOS operating systems (Paul, 2012).
For an opposing view, PC World also published the reasons why
Google Drive™ was better than the SkyDrive®. These included
better search capabilities, video previews, and more paid
storage options (Oswald, 2012).
Ultimately, the choice of clouds is yours to make. And they are
not the only ones to consider.
Dropbox, Amazon, and Other Examples of the Cloud
SkyDrive® is not the only cloud backup system. Carbonite.com
is another way to back up all of the current data on your
computer in real time to the cloud. Once you sign up and pay a
yearly subscription fee for this service, it operates in the
background, saving a copy of each of your files to its own
cloud. When a file is backed up, a small green dot appears in
the bottom left-hand corner of the icon that represents the file
to indicate it is safe. This is an excellent way to protect against
computer crashes. Hewlett Packard has announced that it will be
using Canonical's UBUNTU Linux® as a way to enter the cloud.
Another hardware manufacturer, Asus®, is a cloud as an
extension to its computers. Likewise, Dell™ computers have a
Data Safe, which is information that can be backed up into the
cloud.
Launched in September 2008, Dropbox is also a major player in
the cloud (https://www.dropbox.com/). As of July 2012, 50
million people used Dropbox and were adding 1 billion new
files every 48 hours. Many new computers are even preloaded
with Dropbox software. And today, about 250 million devices
have Dropbox on it. What is it? Dropbox can be used to save
any file (such as photos, videos, or documents) and the file will

be saved on the Dropbox site as well as other devices (like your
computer, tablet, and phone). This lets people access and share
files easily, plus it's free to use
(https://www.dropbox.com/news/company-info).
One final example is Amazon Web Services
(http://aws.amazon.com). Founded in 2006, it provides a service
for all companies that require computing power, services, and
storage. The benefit is that it is infinitely scalable. If a company
grows from 2 people to 100 people overnight, all you need to do
is write a check to Amazon and you will instantly have 50 times
more storage or computing power than you had the day before.
What are some examples of how this service could be used? If
you were a media company that wanted customers to see videos,
you could rent storage space in the Amazon cloud. Or, if you
were a pharmaceutical company, you could rent Amazon's
processing power to perform an intensive simulation
experiment. The examples are numerous, demonstrating that the
cloud is not just for individuals but for businesses as well. In
fact, there are four different types of clouds that you might see.
Four Information Clouds
Now that we have explored some specific uses of the cloud, let's
consider some general information about them. Thomas Vander
Wal suggested that there will be a hierarchy of four types of
clouds. The first will be the Global Information Cloud, which is
essentially the Internet. It will remain accessible to everyone
who has a computing device with connectivity features. The
second cloud in the hierarchy is the External Information Cloud.
This is represented by the closed and private data of an
organization. Examples are an extranet that you might have at
work. The third cloud is the Local Information Cloud. The
owner maintains control here, and those who have access must
have membership privileges. An example would be a LAN set
up at a friend's home where everyone brought their own

computers to play a shared game. The final cloud is the
Personal Information Cloud. This represents all the digital data
that you have created yourself. It could be as simple as a phone
number or as extensive as every photo you have ever taken with
a digital camera. Each of us would maintain complete access
and control over our personal cloud (Malone, 2009, p. 115).
And with more and more people owning smartphones, tablets,
and other mobile devices, the cloud will continue to grow, as
shown in Figure 9.2.
Figure 9.2: Number of smartphone and tablet users in the U.S.
Bar graph showing the number of people using smartphones
and tablets has increased each year since 2010.
Based on data from eMarketer.com. (2011). One in three online
consumers to use a tablet by 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.emarketer.com/Article/One-Three-Online-
Consumers-Use-Tablet-by-2014/1008701; Statista. Forecast:
number of smartphone users in the U.S. 2010-2016. Retrieved
from: http://www.statista.com/statistics/201182/forecast-of-
smartphone-users-in-the-us/; Statista. Forecast: U.S. tablet PC
users 2010-2015. Retrieved from:
http://www.statista.com/statistics/199761/forecast-of-tablet-pc-
users-in-the-united-states-from-2010-to-2015/.
The number of people using smartphones and tablets has
increased each year since 2010. Summary
In this final chapter, our goal was to focus on the present and
future of computing. One of the most important emerging trends
today is how mobile our computers are. From smartphones to
tablets, we can take the power of computing with us on the go,
and not sacrifice our connection to work, play, or the world at
large. Another key trend is that our computing devices are
increasingly anticipating our needs as artificial intelligence
gradually becomes more sophisticated. Another likely
development is that more of our life will be experienced as
online simulations, such as flight simulation that assists in real-

world training of airline pilots. Finally, we looked at one of the
most important visions of the future of computing—the cloud.
More and more, we will find that our data and our applications
are not residing on our own computers but instead somewhere in
cyberspace. This is a powerful trend because while we will need
an Internet connection to access it, our data will be available to
us wherever we might go.
Create an 8- to 10-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation
on spatial organization.
Describe the following:
· The concept of spatial organization
· How spatial organization affects visual perception
· How perception influences behavior
Format your presentation consistent with APA guidelines.
Please use the text book provided via email for most of the
references, outsides sources are okay as well.
8.1 Privacy, Pornography, and Piracy
The computer is neither good nor evil. In itself, it has no
morals, positive or negative, because it is simply a machine. As
with any other tool, such as a hammer or a gun, the morals of
the user shape its functions. In the hands of a carpenter, a
hammer can be used to build a shelter for the homeless. In the
hands of a thief, a hammer can be used to break a window of
that same home and jeopardize the security of its inhabitants. In
this regard, a computer is much like a hammer. It can be used
for good as well as evil. When we see examples of computers
threatening society, do not blame the computer. Blame the
person sitting at the keyboard. To protect ourselves from those

who wish to use computers to infringe upon our rights,
knowledge is the best defense. If we can understand aspects of
this dark side of computing—such as privacy, piracy, and
pornography—we will be better prepared to live safely in our
digital society.
Digital fingerprint on computer screen.
iStockphoto/Thinkstock
The ability to store information digitally is useful but can also
present privacy issues. What solutions can you think of to
prevent unauthorized people from accessing your personal
information?
Privacy
The amount of data collected about you is staggering. You leave
a digital fingerprint every time you use your credit card, borrow
a library book, go to the doctor, rent a movie, bank online,
apply for a job, email, blog, and use Facebook. You are aware
that many people will see some of this information, such as
what you post on a blog. It is intended to be public. But other
information is extremely private, such as your bank account
login code, and therefore, the unauthorized access of personal
information is a serious threat. How can you protect yourself
and preserve your privacy?
How to Permanently Erase Data
The first step is to safeguard your personal computer (Tynan,
2005). One thing you should be aware of is that when you delete
a file, it is not really gone. The data still exists in your
computer's hard disk (or other type of magnetic media like a
flash drive). Deleting a file simply tells the computer that if it
needs more storage, it can use that space. But it may not do so.
So, when you go to sell or throw away your computer, you
could be leaving a wealth of data for an identity thief to easily
uncover. There are several solutions for this. First, if you are

junking your computer, you can take out the hard drive, get a
hammer (wear safety glasses), and literally destroy it. Second,
if you are selling or donating your computer, you can delete all
the files on your hard drive and then make one large Word file
with lots of pictures and copy it over and over until your hard
drive is full. This will write over all of your data. A third
solution is to purchase a software program such as
[email protected] Disk Hard Drive Eraser, which will
permanently delete anything you want to erase from your hard
drive.
Backing up Files
At the opposite end of the spectrum from permanently erasing
data is making sure that you are saving it, which is known as
backing up files. Hard drives are known to fail from time to
time, so it is essential to periodically back up your files, or save
your data to a different location. There are several ways to do
this. You can purchase an external hard drive (typically with a
USB connection) that can be set up to automatically back up
your data at a certain time every day (typically in the early
morning hours when you are not working on the computer). This
way, if something happens to your internal hard drive, all your
data can be restored from your backup external drive. The other
benefit is that an external drive is portable, so you can easily
transport all of your information if you are away from your
home computer. The downside is that if there is a physical
catastrophe to your computing environment (fire, water damage,
and so on), both your internal and external data will be lost. For
this reason, offsite storage (called cloud storage—to be
discussed further in Chapter 9) is essential, so if your computer
is destroyed, you can easily retrieve all of your information.
Another offsite storage option is Google Drive™ with the first 5
GB given to you for free. Once installed on your phone or
mobile device, files can be placed and accessed on any device

that has Google Drive™. Files can also be edited on the Web,
allowing you to collaborate with others.
Apple® has a similar product with its iCloud®, which backs up
all of your data (5 GB of free storage with an option to purchase
more) on your iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod Touch®. It can also
backup files on a mobile device.
Log-In Protection
Another privacy concern is that someone might break into a
computer that you currently use and steal data. You should
require a strong password (discussed in Chapter 5.2) to log in to
your account, but this is sometimes not enough protection
against a skilled data thief. One solution is a small device, often
found in large organizations, that updates your password every
30 seconds. You carry around a keychain device, called a
security token, and when you want to log in, you enter the
current password shown on the security token.
How to Encrypt Files
Another solution is to encrypt your most sensitive files.
Encryption is like a secret code for your data, and only your
computer has the key to unscramble the code. So, if someone
manages to break into your computer and copy your files, when
he opens them again later, he or she will see nothing but useless
garbage information. To encrypt a file in Windows® 7, simply
right-click the file or folder, select Properties, click the General
tab, and select Advanced. Then, select Encrypt Contents to
Secure Data and press OK. You will then get an encryption
certificate that should be backed up, because if you lose it, you
will not be able to decrypt your own files.
A Look Further: Encryption Tools

However, there are third-party encryption tools you can also
use. Here are the top five, as chosen by Life Hacker:
http://lifehacker.com/5677725/five%E2%80%90
best%E2%80%90file%E2%80%90encryption
%E2%80%90tools18.
Virus Protection
We all know what a human virus is, and that is why we cringe
when someone sneezes too close to us. A computer virus is
something similar, and we should take precautions to protect
ourselves. In 1948, John von Neumann was the first to suggest
that a programmer could create a computer virus by writing a
program that replicated itself (or made unauthorized copies
without human intervention). Hundreds of thousands of viruses
now exist, and your computer can become infected when you
download software, open your email, or copy an infected file
onto your computer. Downloading is a term used to describe the
process of bringing information that exists somewhere on the
Internet onto your home computer. Although this is a powerful
feature for accessing and using software and information,
downloading is also risky because of the possibility that the
data might contain a virus. It can only take a few minutes for an
unprotected computer to become infected with a virus
(Lehtinen, Gangemi, & Russell, 2006, p. 6). Data thieves use
automated tools that constantly probe the Internet for vulnerable
computers, so do not let yours be one.
One way to lessen this threat is antivirus software, which works
in two ways. First, it references a vast virus dictionary of all
known ways to infect a computer. The antivirus program
compares and contrasts code in your computer with this
database. If there is a match, it tries to remove or quarantine it.
Second, the antivirus software looks for unusual behavior from
the computer that could be the work of a virus, such as a

program that tries to write an executable file. This is a program
that can initiate a series of wanted actions, like word.exe to
launch Word for Windows®, or unwanted actions in the case of
a virus. For more on how viruses work, see Antivirus World:
http://www.antivirusworld.com/articles/antivirus.php.
A number of virus protection options are available, including
Webroot® Secure Anywhere Antivirus, Norton® AntiVirus,
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, and Kaspersky Anti-Virus.
There are also a number of free antivirus tools, which are
powerful alternatives for students on a budget. These include:
Panda Cloud Anti-Virus
AVG Anti-Virus Free
Avira Free Antivirus
In 2013, the Top Ten Reviews website ranked Bitdefender the
best antivirus product, followed by Kaspersky, and Norton®
(http://anti-virus-software-review.toptenreviews.com/best-
antivirus-software-for-2013.html).
Security Software
The best protection is to install a security software suite on
your computer. One example is McAfee® Total Protection
Service. This actually includes multiple programs to help keep
you safe. The first is virus and spyware protection. Spyware is a
secret program that gathers information about you in the
background of your computer and then shares it with another
person. This type of information might be advertising, personal
data, or even ways to change how your computer is configured.
Such a program is also called malware (mal means "bad").
Spyware can change the home page of your browser, it can
adjust settings so it becomes very difficult to change it back,
and it can also cause computer crashes. Microsoft®, at its
Safety & Security Center, has an excellent overview of the

dangers of spyware and how to prevent it. The following is a
detailed article from Microsoft® on how to prevent spyware:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/spyware-
prevent.aspx.
It is very important to understand that spyware and malware is
not a virus, and antivirus programs do not detect spyware.
Therefore, it is essential that any protection suite you purchase
has both antivirus and spyware protection. And it should also
have a firewall.
A second type of program is firewall protection that will block
malicious attacks on your computer from outside threats (see
Chapter 5, Section 5.2 for more on this). But, as referenced, the
Microsoft® Safety & Security Center also has some excellent
firewall tips here, too. The bottom line is that if you have a
computer connected to the Internet, or to another computer, or
if you share files with anyone else (and there are very few
computers which do not meet at least one of these criteria) then
you need protection. This includes a hardware and software
firewall.
A third is browser protection. This includes a list of unsafe
websites that might contain viruses or other privacy issues
related to your computer, so when you browse the Web, you
will see a green check mark if the site is clean. Programs like
this from McAfee® all require that you pay ongoing
subscriptions for the service. A subscription like this will give
you the latest updates because new threats are developed all the
time. If you buy virus protection once and do not renew it, you
are inviting an attack.
The Purpose of Viruses
Security expert Mikko Hypponen explains why viruses are
created, how they work, and the frightening ways criminals
benefit from them. Do you currently have up-to-date virus

software? What would you need to do to fully protect your
computer?
Pornography
There are other dark sides of the digital society that may not
pose a direct threat to your own data, but you should be aware
of them if you have an underage child in the house with
computer access. It is somewhat difficult to get accurate
statistics on the use of pornography. It is not like the movie
industry where tickets can be easily counted. In contrast, no
national organization is tracking how many people click on a
pornographic image. But, there are some important statistics
that convey the massive amounts of pornographic material
online. According to Morality in the Media (founded in 1962, it
is one of the leading national organizations opposing
pornography and indecency), 12 percent of all websites are
pornographic. Over 40 million Americans regularly visit porn
sites. Each day, 2.5 billion emails have a pornographic message
(8 percent of all emails sent). One out of every four search
engine requests is pornographic
(http://pornharmsresearch.com/infographic-porn-addiction-in-
america-statistics/).
And many social networks can be used to engage in something
known as cybersex, defined as virtual sex using text functions
to chat between two real people. Now, this also includes sharing
photos or videos in various stages of undress. While this might
have been consensual when a relationship was in progress, after
a messy breakup, disgruntled partners sometimes post the
private photos as a hurtful act of vengeance.
Children are also exposed to Internet pornography at a young
age. In fact, the average age of first exposure is 11
(http://www.mykidsbrowser.com/pornography_stats.php). This
happens through intentional and accidental online exposure. It
is easy to mistype a word and suddenly be in a part of the Web

that is for adults only. The pornography industry is big
business, generating revenues that rival the mainstream film
industry in Hollywood. It is not going away. What is the
solution? If you want to control access to this type of material,
there are software applications called antipornography filters.
Examples include NetDogSoft's Anti-Porn Filter, which attempt
to block sites of this nature from appearing on your computer.
However, it is important to realize that no Web filter is 100
percent effective in blocking pornography.
Piracy
Box of confiscated pirated software and media.
AP Photo/The Medford Mail Tribune/Bob Pennell
As computer-related copyright violations increase, law
enforcement agencies are working hard to shut down illegal
download sites and distributors of pirated media. Do you think
computer piracy can be stopped? Why or why not?
We have all heard stories about pirates with names like
Blackbeard who sailed the seas. They would find unsuspecting
and unprotected ships, board them, and steal all of their
property. Something similar occurs in the world of computing.
Data is also known as intellectual property. This term refers to
the creativity behind everything from songs to books and even
computer programs. In the digital era, this intellectual property
is reduced to a stream of zeros and ones in a computer. While
this is great for our access, it also makes intellectual property
vulnerable to unauthorized and easy reproduction. If you
purchase a music CD, copy it in large quantities and then sell
the copies to all of your friends, then you are guilty of
copyright infringement and have violated intellectual property
rights. In other words, you are a pirate! This is a significant
issue. According to the Business Software Alliance (BSA), 62%
of all software in Central and Eastern Europe is pirated,
compared with 60 percent in the Asia Pacific region. The United
States had the lowest piracy rate at 19 percent

(http://globalstudy.bsa.org/2011/).
Copyright is a significant issue on the Internet in part because it
is so easy to make digital copies of music, books, images,
movies, and other material. However, just because something is
easy to do does not make it lawful or ethical. Therefore, a
number of organizations (as well as governments) are working
to reduce and prevent the illegal copying of information. One
example is the Association for the Protection of Internet
Copyright (APIC). Its mission is to educate the world about
Internet copyright law, and enforce that law (see: http://www.a-
w.org/Home.html).
Peer-to-Peer Piracy
One famous example of intellectual property theft was the
Internet site called Napster. It used what is known as peer-to-
peer (sometimes written as P2P) file sharing that enabled
millions of people to download copyrighted songs for free on
their computers. When you logged in, Napster took note of all
the music files on your computer. These became a part of the
Napster database and enabled its community to download them
from you. In turn, you had the ability to browse and download
anyone else's music. Record companies and musicians banded
together and filed a lawsuit against Napster. They won the case,
and Napster was charged with copyright infringement. The
website still exists, but you now have to pay for the songs that
you download.
The next generation of P2P file sharing services is the torrent.
The torrent is often an illegal service that enables the sharing of
copyrighted materials such as software, music, and movies.
Notorious examples are The Pirate Bay and ISOHunt. Each of
these has roughly twelve million unique monthly visitors ("Top
15 Most Popular Torrent Sites," 2013).

Law Enforcement and Cyber Crimes
Cyber crimes, or crimes associated with computers connected to
the Internet, are closely policed and prosecuted by the United
States government. The U.S. Department of Justice has a
Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section that is
responsible for finding those individuals who are abusing the
powers of computers and breaking the law (see link here). It
specifically investigates illegal hacking into private computers,
the theft of private data, and violations of copyright and
intellectual property laws. It works with a variety of partners,
including other governments, private companies, and
universities, to find violators and also propose new legislation
to protect law-abiding citizens from cyber crimes that include
computer intrusion (hacking), password trafficking,
counterfeiting of currency, child pornography and exploitation,
Internet fraud, spam, Internet harassment, Internet bomb threats,
and trafficking in explosive or incendiary devices or firearms
over the Internet. Intellectual property crimes include copyright
piracy, trademark counterfeiting, and the theft of trade secrets.
Cyberwarfare and Cyberterrorism
What will the battlefields of the future look like? If World War
I was the trench, World War II was the amphibious assault, and
Vietnam was the jungle, then what is warfare in the 21st century
like? Certainly conventional warfare still exists, however,
cyberwarfare is an increasingly significant threat in the future.
Consider that in June 2012, the U.S. Air Force graduated its
first elite cyberspace task force. Designed to emulate the Navy's
famous Top Gun program (elite fighter pilots), these new
computer savvy warriors, who trained at Nellis Air Force Base
in Nevada, learned how to defend American computer databases
and infrastructure, track down those that seek to do it harm, and
plan and execute their own cyber attacks. Already there have
been attacks on this front, allegedly by United States and Israeli

cyber forces attempting to destroy key elements of Iran's
nuclear capability. In fact, the U.S. Cyber Command
commenced in 2008 and is integrated within the National
Security Agency. In total, the Air Force spends $4 billion per
year on these cyber programs. Likewise, the Navy trains 24,000
individuals each year at its Center for Information Dominance
(Barnes, 2012).
Crimeware
There is actually software created for use by criminals. One
example is ransomware, which is a program that lets a criminal
enter in stolen data, where it is encrypted. The criminal can then
hold the data "ransom," telling the victim they can have it back
once they pay a ransom fee. For example, in February 2013,
police in Europe arrested eleven people for a ransomware scam
that affected thousands of people. It works by making a program
look like it comes from a legitimate law enforcement agency
telling the user they must pay a fine for some alleged offense.
The fine can be paid online, and when the user does so, the
criminals gain access to the computer and can steal data
("Police hold 11 over ransomware scam 'affecting thousands',"
2013).
A Real Cyber Threat to America
Richard Clarke, head of U.S. Cyber Defense, describes what
could happen in the event of a cyber attack on the United States.
Does this video change your ideas about what cyberterrorism is?
Creative Commons
It is important to learn how to protect yourself if you are the
creator of online content. If you are an artist, musician, or
writer, you want people to see and hear your creative products.
Sharing is essential. But you also do not want your intellectual
property to be used inappropriately, nor do you want to use
other people's work illegally. One option is the traditional

copyright, and another is available from Creative Commons
(http://creativecommons.org/). This nonprofit organization has
developed an electronic "commons"—a vast body of work that
is available for legal sharing and remixing. Authors and artists
can submit their work with copyright terms attached, such as
"all rights reserved," "some rights reserved," or "no rights
reserved."
In conclusion, the dark side of the Internet will always be with
us. If you arm yourself with knowledge, install advanced
software protection, and license your intellectual property, you
should have a safe experience. We will now turn to more
positive ways in which computers are reshaping society in areas
such as business, community life, and education. Previous
sectionNext section
8.2 Making Money Online
Are you interested in using your computer to earn some money?
Imagine this scenario. You turn on your computer one morning
to see an email from a Nigerian bank official who claims that
because of some strange overpayment, the bank has a lot of
extra money. The only problem is that in order for the bank to
maintain the funds, the money has to leave the country for a
period of time. The Nigerian bank official then compliments
you in the email because of your known trustworthiness,
promising that if you agree to simply hold these funds at your
bank, you will receive a large percentage of the money for your
minimal effort. Who would have suspected that making money
online was going to be this easy? Sometimes hundreds of
thousands of dollars are promised.
If you reply to the email from the Nigerian banker and express
interest in his proposal, this is what usually happens. The
official is, of course, delighted you want to help, and says that
all you need to do is take care of some advanced fees or a bond,
or transfer taxes, and so forth. This is a small amount at first,

but gradually more small demands for money up front are made.
Eventually, you realize that the Nigerian bank official does not
live in Nigeria, nor is he a banker. This business transaction is
actually an Internet fraud, and you have been scammed out of
your money with no recourse. Estimates by the Secret Service
claimed that more than $100 million was lost to Nigerian letter
scams in 2001 (Mintz, 2002, p. 115).
The FBI website is actually a great place to keep up to date with
the latest scams on the Internet. By visiting this site,
http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud/internet_fraud, you can
learn tips for avoiding Internet auction fraud, investment fraud,
business fraud, credit card fraud, non-delivery of merchandise
fraud, and of course the classic Nigerian fraud. The FBI lists
these common types of frauds in Table 8.1.
Table 8.1: Common scams
Scam Type Examples
Fraud Scams
Telemarketing Fraud
Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud
Identity Theft
Advance Fee Schemes
Health Care Fraud/Health Insurance Fraud
Redemption/Strawman/Bond Fraud
Investment-Related Scams
Letter of Credit Fraud
Prime Bank Note Fraud
Ponzi Schemes
Pyramid Schemes
Internet Scams
Internet Auction Fraud
Non-Delivery of Merchandise
Credit Card Fraud
Investment Fraud
Business Fraud

Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud
Frauds Targeting Senior Citizens
Health Care Fraud/Health Insurance Fraud
Counterfeit Prescription Drugs
Funeral and Cemetery Fraud
Fraudulent Anti-aging Products
Telemarketing Fraud
Investment Schemes
Reverse Mortgage Scams
Source: http://www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud
The point is not that all Internet commerce is fraudulent. You
can make money in legitimate online transactions. But as in all
areas of life, especially where money is concerned, you have to
be careful and know what you are doing. In this section, we will
discuss some of these real Web-based business activities.
E-commerce
The name for making money with online transactions is called
e-commerce. The "e" stands for electronic, and commerce
means doing business. E-commerce occurs when goods or
services are marketed, bought, and sold through the Internet. As
an individual, you might engage in e-commerce when you
purchase a book online from Amazon.com. People who sell
goods on eBay™, which is an Internet auction site, are also
involved in e-commerce. Large organizations are also moving in
this direction. In a B2B (also known as a business-to-business)
transaction, bills can be paid online, money transferred, and
goods shipped and received, all with a few mouse clicks. E-
commerce is growing by the day, and very few businesses are
not involved in some type of activity on this front. You will
often hear about companies that sell only through e-commerce.
They can be compared with bricks and mortar stores, or those
that have an actual storefront you can walk into. You will find
many of the elements of a real store in an online store. For
example, online stores use an icon of a shopping cart that you

fill up with your goods. When you are done shopping, you go to
the checkout page and then pay by credit card.
Even onground banks are taking advantage of the new electronic
world. Many banks now have mobile applications that allow
people who have an account to deposit checks from their
smartphones or mobile devices. Smartphone users can even use
their devices to swipe credit cards and take payment for
products or services.
Technology Today: E-Commerce Issues
To get an idea of how integral computers have become to the
world's economy, consider the e-commerce sales data from the
U.S. Census. It stated that the second quarter of 2012 alone
consisted of $51.2 billion in e-commerce transactions. Another
important figure is the percentage of e-commerce to overall
retail sales. In 2012, e-commerce represented roughly 5 percent
of all sales.
Figure 8.1: Total and e-commerce retail sales, 2012
Line graph comparing total retail sales with e-commerce sales
for 2012.
Adapted from: Thomas, I., et al. (2013). Quarterly retail e-
commerce sales: 1st quarter 2013. U.S. Census Bureau news.
U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved from:
http://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf
The convenience factor—the ability to make a purchase without
leaving home—is a big advantage for online retailers when it
comes to attracting customers. But these merchants increasingly
are taking advantage of technological advancements to make
their electronic stores even more appealing.
This is displacing some very old types of business. For
example, online discount sites like priceline.com,
cheaptickets.com, travelocity.com, hotels.com, and expedia.com

are replacing the work once done by local travel agents.
Smartphones and 2-D Barcodes
As Sucharita Mulpuru, an e-commerce analyst with Forrester
Research, told Internet Retailer magazine, "The online shopping
experience is getting to be more fun . . . You can create outfits
online, you can share products with others, you can read
customer opinions on topics; you can watch videos. It's a much
more immersive experience than ever before, and that engages
people" (Davis, 2010).
The appeal of e-commerce will become even greater as more
consumers adopt smartphones. These devices allow consumers
to have the same interactive shopping experience that they
currently enjoy on their PCs. With smartphones, however, they
can have this experience anywhere at any time—at home, at
work, or on vacation.
Several technology vendors are experimenting with a new type
of bar code designed specifically for conducting e-commerce
via mobile phones. These 2-D bar codes represent an advance
over the black-and-white striped codes affixed to virtually all
merchandise in traditional retail stores today. These newer bar
codes, because they store data in two dimensions, can contain
much more information.
For purposes of e-commerce, website addresses are the key
pieces of information being placed on 2-D bar codes.
Microsoft® ran a pilot program to test consumer reaction to 2-D
bar codes in conjunction with the release of an Xbox® game
called Halo Wars. Displays bearing 2-D bar codes were placed
in selected Walmart stores where the game was sold. Consumers
were instructed to take pictures of the bar codes with their cell
phone cameras. Those who did were immediately directed to a

special website where they could preorder the game and get free
perks such as ringtones. Microsoft® found that 85% of the
people who visited the site ended up downloading content onto
their phones (Woyke, 2009).
The next step for merchants using the 2-D bar codes to attract
consumers to their sites is allowing them to make purchases.
And now the QR code is becoming ubiquitous. These are small
squares of numerous inset white and black squares, which mean
nothing to the human eye, but when you let your smartphone
scan them they reveal embedded information. QR stands for
Quick Response and it is a barcode the Japanese automotive
industry first developed. Now, they are on many products and
advertisements that let a user with a smartphone, and the
associated QR app, learn more.
Let the Buyer Beware
While consumers clearly are enthralled with the new interactive
features being added to e-commerce sites every day, they also
should be aware of some potential pitfalls.
Just as legitimate merchants are using new technology to entice
online customers, there are many unscrupulous characters
developing schemes to defraud unsuspecting Internet shoppers.
A tactic known as phishing (pronounced fishing) is among the
most popular of these ploys. (Also see Chapter 1 for more on
this scam.)
A phishing scheme typically starts with an email bearing the
name of a legitimate e-commerce provider or financial
institution. The message tells the receiver to click a link leading
to what also may appear to be a legitimate business website.
The tip-off that this is a phishing scheme comes when the
consumer is asked to enter an account number or other personal

information on this site. Legitimate businesses never ask for
that type of information unless the consumer has initiated a
transaction on their site. Phishers use this personal information
to make unauthorized purchases with a person's credit card or,
even worse, to steal their identity and open other accounts in
their name.
The true trademark of a phishing email is that it contains a link
to what is supposed to be the real e-commerce site. However,
when the user clicks on it, he or she is directed to a fake version
of the real site. The actual e-commerce site would have the user
actually type in the URL address instead of clicking the link.
So, if you do click one of these links (and the recommendation
is that you never do), you will often see a non-official URL. For
example, here are phishing samples targeting PayPal users:
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/phishing_paypal.php
This is just a reminder that even in what is fast becoming the E-
Commerce Age, the old fashioned warning of caveat emptor—
let the buyer beware—is still sound advice.
Links for More Information
For Quarterly E-Commerce Information, visit:
http://www.census.gov/retail/ecommerce/historic_releases.html
What is phishing?
http://www.onguardonline.gov/phishing
What are 2-D Barcodes?
http://tag.microsoft.com/what-is-tag/2d-barcodes.aspx
Amazon.com
One of the greatest online selling success stories is a website
called amazon.com. Founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos in

1994, it began as a way to buy books and music online, but soon
expanded to include just about any product imaginable. With
Amazon's online store, customers can "window shop" for more
products than they could find even at the largest shopping
malls. They can have the goods shipped directly to their house,
rather than wasting money on gas or spending time trying to
find a parking space. E-commerce is fast and convenient, and it
has made Jeff Bezos a wealthy man, even though his company
struggled for many years at the outset to turn a profit. At first,
people were skeptical about using their credit cards online, and
few people had fast Internet accounts. However, with more
secure credit authentication systems and other types of security,
and more people getting broadband connections in their homes,
Amazon and sites like it have experienced a tremendous surge
in business (Bacon & Pugh, 2003, p. 20).
A Look Further: Visitors to Retail Websites
Consider the following statistics for popular retail websites
from the first quarter of 2012. Amazon had the most number of
unique Web visitors per month at 107 million. They were
followed by Apple® (48 million), Wal-Mart (39 million),
Netflix (28 million) and Target (24 million) (see
http://www.statista.com/statistics/172685/monthly-unique-
visitors-of-us-retail-websites/). Do you think this will be how
people will purchase goods, rather than driving to a store? Why
or why not?
PayPal
One other online service that has eased the minds of consumers
about online transactions is PayPal (www.paypal.com). This is a
money transfer website founded in 1998 for what is known as
C2C (consumer-to-consumer) transactions. It enables anyone
with an email address to send money safely and securely to
anyone else in the world who has an email address. These

transactions might be as simple as paying a neighbor's kid to
rake your leaves, or it might be something more substantial,
such as collecting payment from the buyer when you sell your
car. PayPal can just as easily be used for transferring money for
services (raking leaves) or goods (a car). To use this service,
simply open a PayPal account and then transfer money into it
through a bank wire or a credit card transaction. Now, you are
ready to give the money to anyone with a PayPal account
(Friedman, 2007, p. 86).
PayPal has capitalized on the rise of mobile computing and even
its company motto references it (see it here:
https://www.paypal-media.com/about). With an app, you can
link your PayPal to bank accounts, credit cards, or debit cards
and then select how you want to pay for a transaction. There are
alternatives to PayPal such as Stripe (https://stripe.com/).
eBay™
Office building with eBay and PayPal signs.
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
eBay™ bought PayPal after the latter's safe, online payment
system contributed to eBay™'s success. In addition to keeping
customers' financial information secure, what else is central to
building a successful online business like eBay™?
eBay™ had its beginnings in Pierre Omidyar's spare bedroom in
a Silicon Valley townhouse. It was 1994 when he opened a site
called AuctionWeb, and few people cared much about it. The
idea was to auction goods online, just as one might with a real
auctioneer and an audience bidding and one-upping each other
on price. It seemed like a strange idea, but Omidyar first tried it
by putting his broken laser pointer online with an opening bid
of $1. Over the next two weeks, he watched people actually
fighting over the pointer, until the auction closed and the
winning bidder paid $14.83. When he reminded the purchaser
that the pointer was broken, the bidder on the item said that was

okay because he was a collector of laser pointers. This was the
day that Omidyar knew his idea would change the world
(Cohen, 2003, p. 4). Four years later, eBay™ itself had a value
higher than Sears, Kmart, and J.C. Penney combined. Omidyar's
own net worth was $4 billion. In 2002, eBay™ saw how
important PayPal was to its success and acquired the company.
Today, PayPal has 113.2 million active accounts and can make
transactions in 25 currencies in 190 markets around the world
(https://www.paypal-media.com/about).
At ebay.com, millions of people have moved their yard and
garage sales to the Internet, where they sell their goods to the
highest bidder. eBay™ has taken the visibility that a garage sale
provided, which was essentially anyone who might drive by
your house, and expanded it to the world. eBay™ works for the
casual seller of a few items as well as those who open their own
electronic storefronts to sell their own brands of purses, crafts,
baseball cards, or anything else that might be imagined.
According to its website, eBay™ currently has 100 million
users and is the largest online marketplace in the world. In
2011, eBay™ was responsible for transactions involving $68
billion worth of goods. E-commerce is fast becoming the
primary way goods are bought and sold
(http://www.ebayinc.com/who). Previous sectionNext section
8.3 Virtual Communities
When we think about society, which is the theme of this
chapter, another word closely associated with it is community.
Within the larger society, we also form smaller communities of
people with whom we interact on a daily basis. These might be
communities within our neighborhood, church, or school, or
groups we join based on our hobbies and interests. Is it possible
to duplicate these types of activities online? The answer is yes,
and virtual communities are a fast-growing segment of digital
society. Virtual communities are formed when groups of people
come together with a common interest in an online space. Such

a community is virtual because the space is not real in the
traditional sense, and interactions take place entirely online
with people from all over the world.
Cyberspace
In 1984, science fiction writer William Gibson coined a new
term—cyberspace. It is important to consider how he defined
this term, because his words provide an amazingly prophetic
vision of a future we are experiencing now. He said that
cyberspace was a "consensual hallucination . . . a graphic
representation of data . . . [involving] unthinkable complexity.
Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and
constellations of data. Like city lights, receding . . ." (Gibson,
2000, p. 51). What was he talking about? Perhaps if you saw the
Matrix movies you might have some idea. But Gibson was
envisioning a virtual community that humans could actually live
within. Is this possible?
In 1993, Howard Rheingold wrote a book called The Virtual
Community in which he discussed the possibility of people
gathering together in a unique new way on the fledgling World
Wide Web. It was the beginning of the era of people actually
finding "life" on the Net (Rheingold, 1993). Why were people
flocking to this new type of interaction? Because there was a
real hunger for community, and as informal public spaces began
to disappear, the virtual community would expand to fill the
void.
LambdaMOO
One of the first virtual communities emerged at a place that we
have seen several other times in this book—Xerox®. In 1990,
Pavel Curtis, a computer scientist at Xerox® Corporation's Palo
Alto Research Center, created LambdaMOO on his workstation.
This was an experimental MUD (Multi-User Dungeon), which

meant that people could use the Telnet function of their
computers to enter a text-based world where they could interact
in real time with other people. The MUD was an online textual
game much like Dungeons & Dragons. Although this type of
interaction does not appeal to everyone, another type of textual
environment emerged called a MOO (MUD Object Oriented). It
did not have the gaming element and was intended more for
social interaction. Much more than a chat room, it was a virtual
world in which you could walk around buildings, explore
forests, and visit friends. Places like this were where some of
the texting terms we use today, like LOL (laugh out loud) and
AFK (away from keyboard), originated.
LambdaMOO is now a dying community. At its peak usage,
more than 300 people were connected at one time, although this
often caused the system to "lag" or slow down. Ironically, now
that faster computers have eliminated the lag, only a dozen or
so people participate at any one time.
Second Life
The vision of having a vibrant virtual community is now
realized in Second Life. Have you ever asked yourself what you
would do if you could live your life over? What type of person
would you be? What career would you select? What would you
look like if you could change your appearance? Would you be
the same gender? If these questions appeal to you, then Second
Life may be for you.
NASA press conference in Second Life.
NASA/Science Faction/SuperStock
NASA maintains a presence in Second Life, and in this photo
NASA is holding a press conference inside the virtual world.
What might be some of the advantages and disadvantages of
visually immersive virtual environments?
Unlike LambdaMOO, Second Life is a visually immersive

Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx

Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx

Similar to Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx (20)

More from ChantellPantoja184

More from ChantellPantoja184 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Previous sectionNext section9.1 Mobile PhonesYears ago, if y.docx