Blog 9: Cloud Computing, A Technology Review

“The Cloud” is not one single entity. It’s built upon an array of services that are offered by many vendors across the entirety of the Internet. Each service is unique and can be transformed to fit the user’s needs. There are many cloud providers that offer the same or similar services. Cloud computing is much like an other common utility such as electricity, water, garbage, etc. It allows the user to pay for the service in use rather than investing in the whole system. In simplest terms, cloud computing is the storing and accessing of data over the Internet rather than a computer’s hard drive.

This new network service has expanded data storage to new levels and reduces the need to have a large hard drive on your own system. It is great because when a local hard drive fills up there is no longer the need to purchase physical equipment, everything can be stored on the virtual cloud. And that is only one application of its use. The Cloud is a complicated system with very unique attributes that make it function. There are two methods to abstraction and five characteristics that will provide a basic understanding of this recent technology.

Here is my in-class presentation of the subject: 

Blog 8: Changing of Movies and Music

In Ryan's last chapters, he discusses a few topics including the expansive globalization of the internet, how the internet has changed society not only politically but economically, and he also brought up the issue of sharing via the internet. Whether it's personal photos and documents, or downloaded music and movies we have has become accustomed to the transition to the digital era.

Do you remember going to the movie store to rent a VHS? Soon after it turned to DVD's, then quickly RedBox's popped up and lead to the closure of many movie stores. Do you think there are implications to the closure of movie stores being replaced with automated machines?

From my experience I can remember when I used to go to the movie store with my family and rent a few VHS's or DVD's and buy some popcorn or candy to eat while we watched. The experience definitely had a greater and more appreciative memory in my mind in comparison to when RedBox was the main way to rent movies. It used to be an adventure just going to the store and walking the isles to check out all the movies new and old. I enjoyed the physicality of it. I have so much frustration now when I go to the RedBox and it's not working or half the movies I want aren't even in stock.

Not only stock problems have occurred, but also business problems. Many of the movie stores in my area were locally owned. They provided jobs to a unique demographic that might not otherwise have had a job. Once they went out of business, the employees would have gone through a tough unemployment and these businesses were replaced with machines. It's not like the employees had a new job to explore.

In this day and age, movie rental is quickly turning to online rental or purchasing. We are able to easily download the most recent blockbuster films, and we usually don't even have to wait for it to come out on DVD. With online downloading comes the issue of piracy and illegal downloading. Our culture has become accustomed to this on many levels. We may not even realize it, but it is likely that all of us have contributed to piracy of media in some way, shape, or form.

The introduction of Napster lead to a whole new way of music sharing and downloading. While it quickly was destroyed for illegal piracy, Napster paved the way to the new method of music playing which was followed with the iPhone and iTunes. Today we uses sources such as Pandora or Spotify to listen to music. It opens up our library to almost any song out there.

With the availability of such a vast array of digital media, do you think you have committed piracy without thinking twice about it?

Blog 7: Off the Beaten Path

For this weeks blog, I wanted to share something amazing that I found this weekend and I thought it perfectly applied to our class and current readings. I listened to Steven Johnson's Ted presentation called The Playful Wonderland Behind Great Inventions. In this TedTalk, he brings up the idea that inventions are just created. Many of them are based off of useless creations that are combined and altered to create something amazing. He says, "frivolous inventions ended up sparking momentous transformations in science and politics and society." He uses the example of programmable computers and how they most recently were invented by ARPA and the reasons that we now know well. He theorizes that the internet goes much, much further back into our ancestors history. The idea of the flute has been modified to an organ, then to a loom for weaving, and even to a type writer. These powerful break-throughs led from one to the next which eventually led to the introduction of programmable machines with programmable cylinders to automatically play music through organs and pianos.

Steven Johnson brings up an important topic. While the Blum and Ryan, the authors we are currently reading in class go back into the history of the internet of were it first began, Johnson digs further into the earliest inventions that were not formed by necessities. I really enjoyed listening to his TedTalk, because it brought up more interesting and historical context that goes beyond the military.

In his last and most resonating words he states that "you'll find the future wherever people are having the most fun."

1. Do you believe this is true? and 2. If it is, what do you think our future is, or what will be the next, great future invention?

I  have linked the TedTalk here in case you want to check it out.

Blog 6: Phone Phreaking

I was so intrigued by Chapter Six's introduction of 'phone phreaks' that I decided to do some more research on the history of the hobby.

The first method of phreaking was known as the switch-hook. It allowed calls to be placed from a phone that had been disabled by either removing the rotary dial or keypad. This prevented unauthorized calls from that phone. The phreaker would rapidly press and release the switch hook to mimic the effect of the rotary dial. By doing this they could have the telephone system and jump lines without being noticed; most of the time.

According to historyofphonephreaking.org, "A phone phreak is someone who loves exploring the telephone system and experimenting with it to understand how it works. Phone phreaking got its start in the late 1950s. Its golden age was the late 1960s and early 1970s."

Phreakers learned to impersonate operators and other personnel in order to hack the telephone lines.

Would you agree that computer hackers are the modern day phone phreaks? 

According to the same website, there are still phone phreaks today and the assume that they will be around as long as telephones are. Many phreakers now are more interested in understanding and exploring the telephone network, much like hackers are interested in unraveling the internet. 

I found this great image in another article.
Why do you think Ryan gives his briefing of phreaking in Chapter 6?

Blog 5: From a Quarter Acre to a Square Foot

I have titled this blog to represent the milestones that have been made since the introduction of the internet and computer systems in the 1960's. IBM's first computer took up a quarter acre of space that no only included the unit itself, but the air conditioning system that kept it from overheating. While the book was written, technology evolved to the point where there was one computer to every seven people worldwide. The evasiveness of computing evolved so quickly. Few people anticipated that the internet would become what it is today.

Johnny Ryan's book, A History of the Internet and the Digital Future provides the backbone of insight into what the internet is today. I found it very interesting how many working parts there were into the making of what has arguably become the center of our world. The fact that there were so many people who played a role in its invention is also a bit hard to follow. Unlike many standard inventions, the internet was built like a puzzle. And it will never be complete.

What is one modern technology that you could not live without? Would you choose something that falls into The Internet of Things category?

Ryan uses the term "centripetal" or "centrifugal" many times through the first chapters of the book. He uses the terms as an adjective before beat, imperative, ideas, and force. By using the term "centripetal", Ryan is trying to explain how the internet began as a single idea and slowly made its way to becoming much more structure and centered. He also uses "centrifugal" to describe the exact opposite. He says that the internet fostered new ideas that allowed a new openness to commerce, communications, and even war.

How do you internet Ryan's use of the words "centripetal" and "centrifugal?"

Blog 4: "The lowercase i."

In Andrew Blum's Epilogue, he ends the text by writing, "The Internet's physical infrastructure has many centers, but from a certain vantage point there is really only one: You. Me. The lowercase i. Wherever I am, and wherever you are."

What does Blum mean by "The lowercase i"?

In my understanding I think he could mean one of two things.

1. "i" is referring to the lowercase version of the internet.

2. "i" is referring to the pronoun, I. Which seems strange, but could also make sense with the context given.

Blum ends the book in full circle by connecting the conclusion back to the prologue of where he asks himself, "I was connected, yes; but connected to what?" And after months of searching to find the physical evidence of the Internet he concludes with the quote I included at the top of this blog. For him, it wasn't just about seeing the places and tons of corrugated steel, but it was about meeting the people who make the Internet function.

I think that scenario can really be true about any situation. For example, I am going to school to gain knowledge of a specific subject. If I wanted to learn about the subject alone, I could choose to read books in the comfort of my home. For me though, that's not all it's about. I go to school to meet new people, gain a perspective, and understand where we all come from. There is so much more I learn than just my major and minor.

Andrew Blum shares his experiences throughout the book to make it more interesting to the reader.

In what situations have you gained more than you initially expected?