Looking back......

Wow. It's already been four months. I remember at first being scared by the fact that I might have to spend extended periods of time with dirty, alcoholic, homeless people. After just the first day, those fears were gone. Yes some of the people had hygiene issues, but then again, who doesn't? These people really wanted to better themselves, and after that class I was glad that i was part of that process.

Thoughout the semester, I have learned a lot about myself and the community that I help. I know it's cliche' but you can't judge a book, or neighborhood, by it's cover. Despite the fact that the sidewalks are dirty and the streets smell, that community is a large family. I saw people walking down the street greeting other passersby as if they had known each other for years. They wanted to know how they were doing; they asked each other if they needed help; sometimes they just gave a hello and a smile. But sometimes that small little gesture can have a profound impact on someone. That feeling of knowing that someone cares about you is immeasurable. The residents of this community realize that. That camaraderie, that willingness to help your fellow human, is something to be admired. These people lift each other up when the world around them has shunned them. That not only displays their toughness, but also their compassion as well. Everyone, regardless of race, belief, and standing, can learn from them. I know I have.

&^$*&%#*^&$(%*^%!!!

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Stopping and Staring

One problem faced over at network ministries was trying to teach a specific curriculum, but getting pulled off to a tangent by constant off topic questions. When I taught the intro to the Internet course to an elderly man, he constantly asked questions related to other programs on the computer. He was taking computer courses at City College and was asking questions related about that class to me. I did not want to seem rude and not answer the question, but I needed to stay with the curriculum, too. At first it irritated me, but in the end it was OK because he was pretty knowledgeable about the internet already. He really didn't need to get taught the class. He was just sitting in. I guess I followed the E in the DUE process too well.

Show me the money!!!!

How do digital media vendors like iTunes, joost, and rhapsody make money? Advertising. However, it is simply not limited to the simple pop ups or banners located on the outskirts of the page. For Joost, money comes from advertisement deals that are streamed with the video that the user is watching (http://www.joost.com/forums/p/2007/03/how-does-advertising-work-on-joost/). In the case of iTunes, the store charges per song more than they paid to give you the music(label royalties, credit card fees, maintenance of servers holding the music, etc.). For rhapsody, users pay a subscription fee to utilize rhapsody's services. On top of that, Rhapsody also incorporates plenty of ads into their website.
With joost, users cannot download content onto their computer. Their content is streamed. Although there are ways to download streamed video, joost does not offer tools to do so. iTunes and rhapsody allow you to download the music and videos onto your computer. Music and videos purchased from iTunes is limited in distribution, meaning that if the user wanted to play the song on another computer, the user would have to give the computer permission to play the media. The user is only allowed to allow a small number of computers to play it. After that, too bad. For rhapsody, any music that the user did not purchase will disappear after the subscription expires. Before then, the user is free to use it however they want.

cathedrals and bazaars

According to Raymond, the cathedral style of development is centered around the idea of small groups of highly skilled developers only releasing a program only after extensive coding and testing had been completed. The bazaar style is quite the opposite. Bazaar style deals with many developers throwing out many releases at the same time.
Raymond believed that a successful bazaar style program requires a qualified group leader and great code of original release.
Raymond did well to categorize the different styles. One approach has a few dedicated coders working towards a common goal with the same mindset. One approach embraces the unique ideas that emerge from a world wide community of coders.
I believe that programs that offer personalization are best suited for the bazaar style. There are many different preferences when dealing with a wide variety of people. When you give the people the power to change things to match their preferences you give them an incentive to do well when they modify or enhance some code.
I believe that programs that require a large amount of financing and large amounts of initial coding are best suited for commercial distribution. Large companies have both the resources and the finances to bring projects like that to life. Open source coders are not as capable as companies to handle that kind of undertaking.

wanna rub the LAMP?

LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQl, and PHP(sometimes substituted with Perl or Python). It is essentially an open-source compilation of OS, server, database, and development language that is used to develop and maintain servers and web sites. Many websites today are built around the components which comprise LAMP. That is due to a variety of reasons. One reason is because it is open source (no buying of commercial software). Another is because it is considered pretty stable.

Rights and stuff

Digital privacy, however protective it might be, in my mind is clearly a negative right.For instance, a bank using my personal information cannot distribute my info without my consent. If I had no digital privacy, the bank could have done whatever they wanted to my information. They could have sold my info to the highest bidder if they wanted to. However, digital privacy laws protects me from unwanted distribution of my information.

What should I get taught today?

I believe that schools have the right to teach a student how to be an engaged citizen. When the students go on and graduate from the school/university they become an ambassador for the school they left. They are an extension of what the school has done. They become a representative from their alma mater. Schools should be able to customize their education in a way that they feel most exemplifies what an alumnus should be by the end of their stay at the school. In the very least, the school should at least offer a program where you can learn to become a better citizen. If a student does not want to participate in such a program, the student can always transfer out to a program where they do not have to participate.

When is taking pictures going to far?

Google has raised fears of privacy intrusion with the release of it's new tool,Google Street View. However, Google has taken some steps to ensure that privacy can be protected. For instance, prior to release, Google removed any photos of domestic violence shelters and allows the user to flag some photos as sensitive. Google will then review the picture and make changes if necessary. In Canada, Google will blur the faces and recognizable characteristics in order to allay some of those privacy fears. Some people believe that these measures are not enough. I believe that these measures are adequate enough. Google is allowing the public to decide whether a photo is too invasive. If they feel like something has gone too far, the public has an option to actually do something about it.

encryption: the electronic combo lock

Encryption/decryption keys can be delivered in a number of ways: person A can select a key and physically deliver it to person B; a third party can select a key and deliver it to both A and B; if they have had previous contact using an encryption, they could use that encryption to send the new code to each other; and lastly, if both A and B have an encrypted connection to a third party, the third party can send the new key over the encrypted connection.

In order to crack RSA, the user could use two separate methods:one is by trying all possible private keys. This can be difficult because the key can be insanely huge. The other approach deals with trying to find the two prime numbers used in the key. If you have the two prime numbers, you can plug it into an algorithm and find the key again. Diffie-Hellman is secure from everything except replay attacks.

Sender ID confirmation is achieved through a number of ways. One is to use your private key to encrypt an entire message to a recipient. When the message is received, the recipient decrypts the message using the sender's public key to encrypt the message. Another way of ID confirmation is to encrypt a small block of bits(the authenticator) with the sender's private key. The recipient will notice that the sender's public key is necessary to decrypt the message.

As for strengths and weaknesses, both RSA and Diffie-Hellman have both. Both are fallible. However difficult to crack, it is possible to decrypt them both. Both have algorithms that, given time, could possibly be broken. Their strengths lie in the complexity of the algorithms. RSA has a variable key length. The longer the message the longer the key. Diffie-Hellman's strength is the difficulty in computing a complex discrete logarithm.

my goals

Hmmmm..... where do I want to be in ten years? The more I think about it, the more I realize that don't have one specific goal. Sure, I want to be successful, be rich, be famous, be happy, start a family,make a difference, etc. Everyone has those goals. The difference is how do you go out and achieve them. There are a hundred different paths that could guide me to those goals. One of the most direct paths to some of those goals could be achieved though my military career. Some could be achieved if I decide to stay and work in the civilian sector. If one works out more then the other, then I'll stick with that. I just don't want to focus so hard on achieving my goals that I lose sight of what I was trying to achieve. Goals should direct you to your goals but also remember to enjoy the journey, too.

first post!

And bringing up the rear: me. WOOHOOO!!!!