Computers are capable of doing more things every year. There are many advantages to
knowing how to use a computer, and it is important that everyone know how to use them
properly. Using the information I have gathered, and my own knowledge from my 12 years of
computer experience, I will explain the many advantages of owning a computer and knowing how
to use a PC and I will attempt to explain why you should purchase a computer and learn how to
use one properly.
Webster's New World Compact Dictionary defines a computer as "an electronic machine that
performs rapid, complex calculations or compiles and correlates data" ("Computer."). While this
definition gives one a very narrow view of what a computer is capable of doing, it does describe
the basic ideas of what I will expand upon. We have been living through an age of computers for a
short while now and there are already many people world wide that are computer literate.
According to Using Computers: A Gateway to Information World Wide Web Edition, over 250
million Personal Computers (PC's) were in use by 1995, and one out of every three homes had a
PC (Shelly, Cashman,& Waggoner, 138).
Computers are easy to use when you know how they work and what the parts are. All
computers perform the four basic operations of the information processing cycle: input, process,
output, and storage. Data, any kind of raw facts, is required for the processing cycle to occur.
Data is processed into useful information by the computer hardware. Most computer systems
consist of a monitor, a system unit which contains the Central Processing Unit (CPU), a
floppy-disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, speakers, a keyboard, a mouse, and a printer. Each
component takes a part in one of the four operations.
The keyboard and mouse are input devices that a person uses to enter data into the computer.
From there the data goes to the system unit where it is processed into useful information the
computer can understand and work with. Next the processed data can be sent to storage devices
or to output devices. Normally output is sent to the monitor and stored on the hard-disk or to a
floppy-disk located internal of the system unit. Output can also be printed out through the printer,
or can be played through the speakers as sound depending on the form it takes after it is
processed.
Once you have grasped a basic understanding of the basic parts and operations of a computer,
you can soon discover what you can do with computers to make life easier and more enjoyable.
Being computer literate allows you to use many powerful software applications and utilities to do
work for school, business, or pleasure. Microsoft is the current leading producer of many of these
applications and utilities.
Microsoft produces software called operating systems that manage and regulate the
information processing cycle. The oldest of these is MS-DOS, a single user system that uses typed
commands to initiate tasks. Currently Microsoft has available operating systems that use visual
cues such as icons to help enter data and run programs. These operating systems are ran under
an environment called a Graphical User Interface (GUI's). Such operating systems include
Windows 3.xx, Windows 95, and Windows NT Workstation. Windows 95 is geared more for use
in the home for productivity and game playing whereas Windows NT is more business orientated.
The article entitled "Mine, All Mine" in the June 5, 1995 issue of Time stated that 8 out of 10
PC's worldwide would not be able to start or run if it were not for Microsoft's operating systems
like MS-DOS, Windows 95, and Windows NT (Elmer-Dewitt, 1995, p. 50).
By no means has Microsoft limited itself to operating systems alone. Microsoft has also
produced a software package called Microsoft Office that is very useful in creating reports, data
bases, spreadsheets, presentations, and other documents for school and work. Microsoft Office:
Introductory Concepts and Techniques provides a detailed, step-by-step approach to the four
programs included in Microsoft Office.
Included in this package are Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, and
Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft Word is a word processing program that makes creating
professional looking documents such as announcements, resumes, letters, address books, and
reports easy to do. Microsoft Excel, a spreadsheet program, has features for data organization,
calculations, decision making, and graphing. It is very useful in making professional looking
reports. Microsoft Access, a powerful database management system, is useful in creating and
processing data in a database. Microsoft PowerPoint is ". . a complete presentation graphics
program that allows you to produce professional looking presentations" (Shelly, Cashman, &
Vermaat, 2). PowerPoint is flexible enough so that you can create electronic presentations,
overhead transparencies, or even 35mm slides.
Microsoft also produces entertainment and reference programs. "Microsoft's Flight Simulator
is one of the best selling PC games of all time" (Elmer-Dewitt, 50). Microsoft's Encarta is an
electronic CD-ROM encyclopedia that makes for a fantastic alternative to 20 plus volume book
encyclopedias. In fact, it is so popular, it outsells the Encyclopedia Britannica. These powerful
business, productivity, and entertainment applications are just the beginning of what you can do
with a PC.
Knowing how to use the Internet will allow you access to a vast resource of facts, knowledge,
information, and entertainment that can help you do work and have fun. According to Netscape
Navigator 2 running under Windows 3.1, "the Internet is a collection of networks, each of which
is composed of a collection of smaller networks" (Shelly, Cashman, & Jordan, N2). Information
can be sent over the Internet through communication lines in the form of graphics, sound, video,
animation, and text. These forms of computer media are known as hypermedia. Hypermedia is
accessed through hypertext links, which are pointers to the computer where the hypermedia is
stored. The World Wide Web (WWW) is the collection of these hypertext links throughout the
Internet. Each computer that contains hypermedia on the WWW is known as a Web site and has
Web pages set up for users to access the hypermedia. Browsers such as Netscape allow people to
"surf the net" and search for the hypermedia of their choice.
There are millions of examples of hypermedia on the Internet. You can find art, photos,
information on business, the government, and colleges, television schedules, movie reviews, music
lyrics, online news and magazines, sport sights of all kinds, games, books, and thousands of other
hypermedia on the WWW. You can send electronic mail (E-Mail), chat with other users around
the world, buy airline, sports, and music tickets, and shop for a house or a car. All of this, and
more, provides one with a limitless supply of information for research, business, entertainment, or
other personal use. Online services such as America Online, Prodigy, or CompuServe make it
even easier to access the power of the Internet. The Internet alone is almost reason enough to
become computer literate, but there is still much more that computers can do.
Knowing how to use a computer allows you to do a variety of things in several different ways.
One of the most popular use for computers today is for playing video games. With a PC you can
play card games, simulation games, sport games, strategy games, fighting games, and adventure
games. Today's technology provides the ultimate experiences in color, graphics, sound, music,
full motion video, animation, and 3D effects. Computers have also become increasingly useful in
the music, film, and television industry. Computers can be used to compose music, create sound
effects, create special effects, create 3D life-like animation, and add previous existing movie and
TV footage into new programs, as seen in the movie Forrest Gump. All this and more can be
done with computers.
There is truly no time like the present to become computer literate. Computers will be doing
even more things in the future and will become unavoidable. Purchasing and learning about a new
PC now will help put PC's into the other two-thirds of the homes worldwide and make the
transition into a computer age easier.
Works Cited
"Computer." Webster's New World Compact School and Office Dictionary. 1995.
Elmer-Dewitt, P. "Mine, All Mine." Time Jun. 1995: 46-54.
Shelly, G., T. Cashman, and K. Jordan. Netscape Navigator 2 Running Under Windows 3.1.
Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1996.
Shelly, G., T. Cashman, and M. Vermaat. Microsoft Office Introductory Concepts and
Techniques. Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1995.
Shelly, G., T. Cashman, G. Waggoner, and W. Waggoner. Using Computers: A Gateway to
Information World Wide Web Edition. Danvers: Boyd & Fraser Publishing Co., 1996.
Sunday, 1 September 2013
The Power On Self Test
The Power On Self Test
When the system is powered on, the BIOS will perform diagnostics and initialize system components, including the video system.
(This is self-evident when the screen first flicks before the Video Card header is displayed).
This is commonly referred as POST (Power-On Self Test).
Afterwards, the computer will proceed its final boot-up stage by calling the operating system.
Just before that, the user may interrupt to have access to SETUP.
To allow the user to alter the CMOS settings, the BIOS provides a little program, SETUP.
Usually, setup can be entered by pressing a special key combination (DEL, ESC, CTRL-ESC, or CRTL-ALT-ESC)
at boot time (Some BIOSes allow you to enter setup at any time by pressing CTRL-ALT-ESC).
The AMI BIOS is mostly entered by pressing the DEL key after resetting (CTRL-ALT-DEL) or powering up the computer.
You can bypass the extended CMOS settings by holding the <INS> key down during boot-up. This is really helpful,
especially if you bend the CMOS settings right out of shape and the computer won't boot properly
anymore. This is also a handy tip for people who play with the older AMI BIOSes with the XCMOS setup.
It allows changes directly to the chip registers with very little technical explanation.
A Typical BIOS POST Sequence
Most BIOS POST sequences occur along four stages:
1. Display some basic information about the video card like its brand, video BIOS version and video memory available.
2. Display the BIOS version and copyright notice in upper middle screen. You will see a large sequence of numbers at the bottom of the screen. This sequence is the .
3. Display memory count. You will also hear tick sounds if you have enabled it (see Memory Test Tick Sound section).
4. Once the POST have succeeded and the BIOS is ready to call the operating system (DOS, OS/2, NT, WIN95, etc.) you will see a basic table of the system's configurations:
· Main Processor: The type of CPU identified by the BIOS. Usually Cx386DX, Cx486DX, etc..
· Numeric Processor: Present if you have a FPU or None on the contrary. If you have a FPU and the BIOS does not recognize it, see section Numeric Processor Test in Advanced CMOS Setup.
· Floppy Drive A: The drive A type. See section Floppy drive A in Standard CMOS Setup to alter this setting.
· Floppy Drive B: Idem.
· Display Type: See section Primary display in Standard CMOS Setup.
· AMI or Award BIOS Date: The revision date of your BIOS. Useful to mention when you have compatibility problems with adaptor cards (notably fancy ones).
· Base Memory Size: The number of KB of base memory. Usually 640.
· Ext. Memory Size: The number of KB of extended memory.
In the majority of cases, the summation of base memory and extended memory does not equal the total system memory.
For instance in a 4096 KB (4MB) system, you will have 640KB of base memory and 3072KB of extended memory, a total of 3712KB.
The missing 384KB is reserved by the BIOS, mainly as shadow memory (see Advanced CMOS Setup).
· Hard Disk C: Type: The master HDD number. See Hard disk C: type section in Standard CMOS Setup.
· Hard Disk D: Type: The slave HDD number. See Hard disk D: type section in Standard CMOS Setup.
· Serial Port(s): The hex numbers of your COM ports. 3F8 and 2F8 for COM1 and COM2.
· Parallel Port(s): The hex number of your LTP ports. 378 for LPT1.
· Other information: Right under the table, BIOS usually displays the size of cache memory.
Common sizes are 64KB, 128KB or 256KB. See External Cache Memory section in Advanced CMOS Setup.
AMI BIOS POST Errors
During the POST routines, which are performed each time the system is powered on, errors may occur.
Non-fatal errors are those which, in most cases, allow the system to continue the boot up process.
The error messages normally appear on the screen.
Fatal errors are those which will not allow the system to continue the boot-up procedure.
If a fatal error occurs, you should consult with your system manufacturer or dealer for possible repairs.
These errors are usually communicated through a series of audible beeps.
The numbers on the fatal error list correspond to the number of beeps for the corresponding error.
All errors listed, with the exception of #8, are fatal errors. All errors found by the BIOS will be forwarded to the I/O port 80h.
· 1 beep: DRAM refresh failure. The memory refresh circuitry on the motherboard is faulty.
· 2 beeps: Parity Circuit failure. A parity error was detected in the base memory (first 64k Block) of the system.
· 3 beeps: Base 64K RAM failure. A memory failure occurred within the first 64k of memory.
· 4 beeps: System Timer failure. Timer #1 on the system board has failed to function properly.
· 5 beeps: Processor failure. The CPU on the system board has generated an error.
· 6 beeps: Keyboard Controller 8042-Gate A20 error. The keyboard controller (8042) contains the gate A20 switch which allows the computer to operate in virtual mode.
This error message means that the BIOS is not able to switch the CPU into protected mode.
· 7 beeps: Virtual Mode (processor) Exception error. The CPU on the motherboard has generated an Interrupt Failure exception interrupt.
· 8 beeps: Display Memory R/W Test failure. The system video adapter is either missing or Read/Write Error its memory is faulty. This is not a fatal error.
· 9 beeps: ROM-BIOS Checksum failure. The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS. This is good indication that the BIOS ROMs went bad.
· 10 beeps: CMOS Shutdown Register. The shutdown register for the CMOS memory Read/Write Error has failed.
· 11 beeps: Cache Error / External Cache Bad. The external cache is faulty.
Other AMI BIOS POST Codes
· 2 short beeps: POST failed. This is caused by a failure of one of the hardware testing procedures.
· 1 long & 2 short beeps: Video failure. This is caused by one of two possible hardware faults. 1) Video BIOS ROM failure, checksum error encountered. 2) The video adapter installed has a horizontal retrace failure.
· 1 long & 3 short beeps: Video failure. This is caused by one of three possible hardware problems. 1) The video DAC has failed. 2) the monitor detection process has failed. 3) The video RAM has failed.
· 1 long beep: POST successful. This indicates that all hardware tests were completed without encountering errors.
If you have access to a POST Card reader, (Jameco, etc.) you can watch the system perform each test by the value that's displayed.
If/when the system hangs (if there's a problem) the last value displayed will give you a good idea where and what went wrong, or what's bad on the system board. Of course, having a description of those codes would be helpful,
and different BIOSes have different meanings for the codes. (could someone point out FTP sites where we could have access to a complete list of error codes for different versions of AMI and Award BIOSes?).
BIOS Error Messages
This is a short list of most frequent on-screen BIOS error messages. Your system may show them in a different manner. When you see any of these, you are in trouble - Doh! (Does someone has any additions or corrections?)
· "8042 Gate - A20 Error": Gate A20 on the keyboard controller (8042) is not working.
· "Address Line Short!": Error in the address decoding circuitry.
· "Cache Memory Bad, Do Not Enable Cache!": Cache memory is defective.
· "CH-2 Timer Error": There is an error in timer 2. Several systems have two timers.
· "CMOS Battery State Low" : The battery power is getting low. It would be a good idea to replace the battery.
· "CMOS Checksum Failure" : After CMOS RAM values are saved, a checksum value is generated for error checking. The previous value is different from the current value.
· "CMOS System Options Not Set": The values stored in CMOS RAM are either corrupt or nonexistent.
· "CMOS Display Type Mismatch": The video type in CMOS RAM is not the one detected by the BIOS.
· "CMOS Memory Size Mismatch": The physical amount of memory on the motherboard is different than the amount in CMOS RAM.
· "CMOS Time and Date Not Set": Self evident.
· "Diskette Boot Failure": The boot disk in floppy drive A: is corrupted (virus?). Is an operating system present?
· "Display Switch Not Proper": A video switch on the motherboard must be set to either color or monochrome.
· "DMA Error": Error in the DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller.
· "DMA #1 Error": Error in the first DMA channel.
· "DMA #2 Error": Error in the second DMA channel.
· "FDD Controller Failure": The BIOS cannot communicate with the floppy disk drive controller.
· "HDD Controller Failure": The BIOS cannot communicate with the hard disk drive controller.
· "INTR #1 Error": Interrupt channel 1 failed POST.
· "INTR #2 Error": Interrupt channel 2 failed POST.
· "Keyboard Error": There is a timing problem with the keyboard.
· "KB/Interface Error": There is an error in the keyboard connector.
· "Parity Error ????": Parity error in system memory at an unknown address.
· "Memory Parity Error at xxxxx": Memory failed at the xxxxx address.
· "I/O Card Parity Error at xxxxx": An expansion card failed at the xxxxx address.
· "DMA Bus Time-out": A device has used the bus signal for more than allocated time (around 8 microseconds).
If you encounter any POST error, there is a good chance that it is an HARDWARE related problem.
You should at least verify if adaptor cards or other removable components (simms, drams etc...) are properly inserted before calling for help. One common attribute in human nature is to rely on others before investigating the problem yourself.
When the system is powered on, the BIOS will perform diagnostics and initialize system components, including the video system.
(This is self-evident when the screen first flicks before the Video Card header is displayed).
This is commonly referred as POST (Power-On Self Test).
Afterwards, the computer will proceed its final boot-up stage by calling the operating system.
Just before that, the user may interrupt to have access to SETUP.
To allow the user to alter the CMOS settings, the BIOS provides a little program, SETUP.
Usually, setup can be entered by pressing a special key combination (DEL, ESC, CTRL-ESC, or CRTL-ALT-ESC)
at boot time (Some BIOSes allow you to enter setup at any time by pressing CTRL-ALT-ESC).
The AMI BIOS is mostly entered by pressing the DEL key after resetting (CTRL-ALT-DEL) or powering up the computer.
You can bypass the extended CMOS settings by holding the <INS> key down during boot-up. This is really helpful,
especially if you bend the CMOS settings right out of shape and the computer won't boot properly
anymore. This is also a handy tip for people who play with the older AMI BIOSes with the XCMOS setup.
It allows changes directly to the chip registers with very little technical explanation.
A Typical BIOS POST Sequence
Most BIOS POST sequences occur along four stages:
1. Display some basic information about the video card like its brand, video BIOS version and video memory available.
2. Display the BIOS version and copyright notice in upper middle screen. You will see a large sequence of numbers at the bottom of the screen. This sequence is the .
3. Display memory count. You will also hear tick sounds if you have enabled it (see Memory Test Tick Sound section).
4. Once the POST have succeeded and the BIOS is ready to call the operating system (DOS, OS/2, NT, WIN95, etc.) you will see a basic table of the system's configurations:
· Main Processor: The type of CPU identified by the BIOS. Usually Cx386DX, Cx486DX, etc..
· Numeric Processor: Present if you have a FPU or None on the contrary. If you have a FPU and the BIOS does not recognize it, see section Numeric Processor Test in Advanced CMOS Setup.
· Floppy Drive A: The drive A type. See section Floppy drive A in Standard CMOS Setup to alter this setting.
· Floppy Drive B: Idem.
· Display Type: See section Primary display in Standard CMOS Setup.
· AMI or Award BIOS Date: The revision date of your BIOS. Useful to mention when you have compatibility problems with adaptor cards (notably fancy ones).
· Base Memory Size: The number of KB of base memory. Usually 640.
· Ext. Memory Size: The number of KB of extended memory.
In the majority of cases, the summation of base memory and extended memory does not equal the total system memory.
For instance in a 4096 KB (4MB) system, you will have 640KB of base memory and 3072KB of extended memory, a total of 3712KB.
The missing 384KB is reserved by the BIOS, mainly as shadow memory (see Advanced CMOS Setup).
· Hard Disk C: Type: The master HDD number. See Hard disk C: type section in Standard CMOS Setup.
· Hard Disk D: Type: The slave HDD number. See Hard disk D: type section in Standard CMOS Setup.
· Serial Port(s): The hex numbers of your COM ports. 3F8 and 2F8 for COM1 and COM2.
· Parallel Port(s): The hex number of your LTP ports. 378 for LPT1.
· Other information: Right under the table, BIOS usually displays the size of cache memory.
Common sizes are 64KB, 128KB or 256KB. See External Cache Memory section in Advanced CMOS Setup.
AMI BIOS POST Errors
During the POST routines, which are performed each time the system is powered on, errors may occur.
Non-fatal errors are those which, in most cases, allow the system to continue the boot up process.
The error messages normally appear on the screen.
Fatal errors are those which will not allow the system to continue the boot-up procedure.
If a fatal error occurs, you should consult with your system manufacturer or dealer for possible repairs.
These errors are usually communicated through a series of audible beeps.
The numbers on the fatal error list correspond to the number of beeps for the corresponding error.
All errors listed, with the exception of #8, are fatal errors. All errors found by the BIOS will be forwarded to the I/O port 80h.
· 1 beep: DRAM refresh failure. The memory refresh circuitry on the motherboard is faulty.
· 2 beeps: Parity Circuit failure. A parity error was detected in the base memory (first 64k Block) of the system.
· 3 beeps: Base 64K RAM failure. A memory failure occurred within the first 64k of memory.
· 4 beeps: System Timer failure. Timer #1 on the system board has failed to function properly.
· 5 beeps: Processor failure. The CPU on the system board has generated an error.
· 6 beeps: Keyboard Controller 8042-Gate A20 error. The keyboard controller (8042) contains the gate A20 switch which allows the computer to operate in virtual mode.
This error message means that the BIOS is not able to switch the CPU into protected mode.
· 7 beeps: Virtual Mode (processor) Exception error. The CPU on the motherboard has generated an Interrupt Failure exception interrupt.
· 8 beeps: Display Memory R/W Test failure. The system video adapter is either missing or Read/Write Error its memory is faulty. This is not a fatal error.
· 9 beeps: ROM-BIOS Checksum failure. The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS. This is good indication that the BIOS ROMs went bad.
· 10 beeps: CMOS Shutdown Register. The shutdown register for the CMOS memory Read/Write Error has failed.
· 11 beeps: Cache Error / External Cache Bad. The external cache is faulty.
Other AMI BIOS POST Codes
· 2 short beeps: POST failed. This is caused by a failure of one of the hardware testing procedures.
· 1 long & 2 short beeps: Video failure. This is caused by one of two possible hardware faults. 1) Video BIOS ROM failure, checksum error encountered. 2) The video adapter installed has a horizontal retrace failure.
· 1 long & 3 short beeps: Video failure. This is caused by one of three possible hardware problems. 1) The video DAC has failed. 2) the monitor detection process has failed. 3) The video RAM has failed.
· 1 long beep: POST successful. This indicates that all hardware tests were completed without encountering errors.
If you have access to a POST Card reader, (Jameco, etc.) you can watch the system perform each test by the value that's displayed.
If/when the system hangs (if there's a problem) the last value displayed will give you a good idea where and what went wrong, or what's bad on the system board. Of course, having a description of those codes would be helpful,
and different BIOSes have different meanings for the codes. (could someone point out FTP sites where we could have access to a complete list of error codes for different versions of AMI and Award BIOSes?).
BIOS Error Messages
This is a short list of most frequent on-screen BIOS error messages. Your system may show them in a different manner. When you see any of these, you are in trouble - Doh! (Does someone has any additions or corrections?)
· "8042 Gate - A20 Error": Gate A20 on the keyboard controller (8042) is not working.
· "Address Line Short!": Error in the address decoding circuitry.
· "Cache Memory Bad, Do Not Enable Cache!": Cache memory is defective.
· "CH-2 Timer Error": There is an error in timer 2. Several systems have two timers.
· "CMOS Battery State Low" : The battery power is getting low. It would be a good idea to replace the battery.
· "CMOS Checksum Failure" : After CMOS RAM values are saved, a checksum value is generated for error checking. The previous value is different from the current value.
· "CMOS System Options Not Set": The values stored in CMOS RAM are either corrupt or nonexistent.
· "CMOS Display Type Mismatch": The video type in CMOS RAM is not the one detected by the BIOS.
· "CMOS Memory Size Mismatch": The physical amount of memory on the motherboard is different than the amount in CMOS RAM.
· "CMOS Time and Date Not Set": Self evident.
· "Diskette Boot Failure": The boot disk in floppy drive A: is corrupted (virus?). Is an operating system present?
· "Display Switch Not Proper": A video switch on the motherboard must be set to either color or monochrome.
· "DMA Error": Error in the DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller.
· "DMA #1 Error": Error in the first DMA channel.
· "DMA #2 Error": Error in the second DMA channel.
· "FDD Controller Failure": The BIOS cannot communicate with the floppy disk drive controller.
· "HDD Controller Failure": The BIOS cannot communicate with the hard disk drive controller.
· "INTR #1 Error": Interrupt channel 1 failed POST.
· "INTR #2 Error": Interrupt channel 2 failed POST.
· "Keyboard Error": There is a timing problem with the keyboard.
· "KB/Interface Error": There is an error in the keyboard connector.
· "Parity Error ????": Parity error in system memory at an unknown address.
· "Memory Parity Error at xxxxx": Memory failed at the xxxxx address.
· "I/O Card Parity Error at xxxxx": An expansion card failed at the xxxxx address.
· "DMA Bus Time-out": A device has used the bus signal for more than allocated time (around 8 microseconds).
If you encounter any POST error, there is a good chance that it is an HARDWARE related problem.
You should at least verify if adaptor cards or other removable components (simms, drams etc...) are properly inserted before calling for help. One common attribute in human nature is to rely on others before investigating the problem yourself.
The evelution of the microprossesor
The evaluation of the microprocessor.
The microprocessor has changed a lot over the years, says (Michael W.
Davidson,http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/chipshot.html) Microprocessor
technology is progressing so rapidly that even experts in the field are
having trouble keeping up with current advances. As more competition
develops in this $150 billion a year business, power and speed of the
microprocessor is expanding at an almost explosive rate. The changes
have been most evident over the last decade. The microprocessor has
changed the way computers work by making them faster. The
microprocessor is often called the brain of the C.P.U.(or the central
processing unit)and without the microprocessor the computer is more or
less useless. Motorola and Intel have invented most of the
microprocessors over the last decade. Over the years their has been a
constant battle over cutting edge technology. In the 80's Motorola won
the battle, but now in the 90's it looks as Intel has won the war.
The microprocessor 68000 is the original microprocessor(Encarta 95). It
was invented by Motorola in the early 80's. The 68000 also had two very
distinct qualities like 24-bit physical addressing and a 16-bit data
bus. The original Apple Macintosh ,released in 1984, had the 8-MHz
found at the core of it. It was also found in the Macintosh Plus, the
original Macintosh SE, the Apple Laser-Writer IISC, and the Hewlett-
Packard's LaserJet printer family. The 68000 was very efficient for its
time for example it could address 16 megabytes of memory, that is 16
more times the memory than the Intel 8088 which was found in the IBM PC
. Also the 68000 has a linear addressing architecture which was better
than the 8088's segmented memory architecture because it made making
large applications more straightforward.
The 68020 was invented by Motorola in the mid-80's(Encarta 95). The
68020 is about two times as powerful as the 68000. The 68020 has 32-bit
addressing and a 32-bit data bus and is available in various speeds like
16MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, and 33MHz. The microprocessor 68020 is found in the
original Macintosh II and in the LaserWriter IINT both of which are from
Apple.
The 68030 microprocessor was invented by Motorola about a year after the
68020 was released(Encarta 95). The 68030 has 32-bit addressing and a
32-bit data bus just like it's previous model, but it has paged memory
management built into it, delaying the need for additional chips to
provide that function. A 16-MHz version was used in the Macintosh IIx,
IIcx, and SE/30. A 25-MHz model was used in the Mac IIci and the NeXT
computer. The 68030 is produced in various versions like the 20-MHz,
33MHz, 40-MHz, and 50MHz.
The microprocessor 68040 was invented by Motorola(Encarta 95). The
68040 has a 32-bit addressing and a 32-bit data bus just like the
previous two microprocessors. But unlike the two previous
microprocessors this one runs at 25MHz and includes a built-in floating
point unit and memory management units which includes 4-KB instruction
and data coaches. Which just happens to eliminate the need additional
chips to provide these functions. Also the 68040 is capable of parallel
instruction execution by means of multiple independent instruction
pipelines, multiple internal buses, and separate caches for both data
and instructions.
The microprocessor 68881 was invented by Motorola for the use with both
microprocessor 68000 and the 68020(Encarta 95). Math coprocessors, if
supported by the application software, would speed up any function that
is math-based. The microprocessor 68881 does this by additional set of
instructions for high-proformance floating point arithmetic, a set of
floating-point data registers, and 22 built-inconstants including p and
powers of 10. The microprocessor 68881 conforms to the ANSI/IEEE 754-
1985 standard for binary floating-point arithmetic. When making the
Macintosh II, Apple noticed that when they added a 68881, the
improvement in performance of the interface, and thus the apparent
performance was changed dramatically. Apple then decided to add it as
standard equipment.
The microprocessor 80286, also called the 286was invented by Motorola in
1982(Encarta 95). The 286 was included in the IBM PC/AT and compatible
computers in 1984. The 286 has a 16-bit resister, transfers information
over the data bus 16 bits at a time, and use 24 bits to address memory
location. The 286 was able to operate in two modes real (which is
compatible with MS-DOS and limits the 8086 and 8088 chips) and protected
( which increases the microprocessor's functionality). Real mode limits
the amount of memory the microprocessor can address to one megabyte; in
protected mode, however the addressing access is increased and is
capable of accessing up to 16 megabytes of memory directly. Also, an
286 microprocessor in protected mode protects the operating system from
mis-behaved applications that could normally halt (or "crash") a system
with a non-protected microprocessor such as the 80286 in real mode or
just the plain old 8088.
The microprocessor 80386dx also called the 386 or the 386dx was invented
in 1985(Encarta 95). The 386 was used in IBM and compatible
microcomputers such as the PS/2 Model 80. The 386 is a full 32-bit
microprocessor, meaning that it has a 32-bit resister, it can easily
transfer information over its data bus 32 bits at a time, and it can use
32 bits in addressing memory. Like the earlier 80286, the 386 operates
in two modes, again real (which is compatible with MS-DOS and limits the
8086 and 8088 chips) and protected ( which increases the
microprocessor's functionality and protects the operating system from
halting because of an inadvertent application error.) Real mode limits
the amount of memory the microprocessor can address to one megabyte; in
protected mode, however the total amount of memory that the 386 can
address directly is 4 gigabytes, that is roughly 4 billion bytes. The
80386dx also has a virtual mode, which allows the operating systems to
effectively divide the 80386dx into several 8086 microprocessors each
having its own 1-megabyte space, allowing each "8086" to run its own
program.
The microprocessor 80386sx also called the 386sx was invented by Intel
in 1988 as a low-cost alternative to the 80386DX(Encarta 95). The
80386SX is in essence an 80386DX processor limited by a 16-bit data bus.
The 16-bit design allows 80386SX systems to be configured from less
expensive AT-class parts, ensuring a much lower complete system price.
The 80386SX offers enhanced performance over the 80286 and access to
software designed for the 80386DX. The 80386SX also offers 80386DX
comforts such as multitasking and virtual 8086 mode.
The microprocessor 80387SX also called the 387SX was invented by
Intel(Encarta 95). A math, or floating-point, coprocessor from Intel
for use with the 80386SX family of microprocessors. The 387sx is
available in a 16-MHz version only, the 80387SX, if supported by the
application software, can dramatically improve system performance by
offering arithmetic, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic
instructions for the application to use-instructions not offered in the
80386SX instruction set. The 80387SX also offers perfect operations for
sine, cosine, tangent, arctangent, and logarithm calculations. If used,
these additional instructions are carried out by the 80387SX, freeing
the 80386SX to perform other tasks. The 80387SX is capable of working
with 32- and 64-bit integers, 32-, 64-, and 80-bit floating-point
numbers, and 18-digit BCD (binary coded decimal) operands; it coincides
to the ANSI/IEEE 754-1985 standard for binary floating-point arithmetic.
The 80387SX operates individually on the 80386SX's mode, and it performs
as expected regardless of whether the 80386SX is running in real,
protected, or virtual 8086 mode.
The microprocessor mi486 also called the 80486 or the 486 was invented
in 1989 by Intel(Encarta 95). Like its 80386 predecessor, the 486 is a
full-bit processor with 32-bit registers, 32-bit data bus, and 32-bit
addressing. It includes several enhancements, however, including a
built-in cache controller, the built-in equivalent of an 80387 floating-
point coprocessor, and provisions for multiprocessing. In addition, the
486 uses a "pipeline" execution scheme that breaks instructions into
multiple stages, resulting in much higher performance for many common
data and integer math operations.
In conclusion it is evident by the following that microprocessors are
developing at leaps and bounds and it is not surprising that if by the
time it hits the teacher's desk or by the time you read this the next
superchip will be developed(Encarta 95).
The microprocessor has changed a lot over the years, says (Michael W.
Davidson,http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/chipshot.html) Microprocessor
technology is progressing so rapidly that even experts in the field are
having trouble keeping up with current advances. As more competition
develops in this $150 billion a year business, power and speed of the
microprocessor is expanding at an almost explosive rate. The changes
have been most evident over the last decade. The microprocessor has
changed the way computers work by making them faster. The
microprocessor is often called the brain of the C.P.U.(or the central
processing unit)and without the microprocessor the computer is more or
less useless. Motorola and Intel have invented most of the
microprocessors over the last decade. Over the years their has been a
constant battle over cutting edge technology. In the 80's Motorola won
the battle, but now in the 90's it looks as Intel has won the war.
The microprocessor 68000 is the original microprocessor(Encarta 95). It
was invented by Motorola in the early 80's. The 68000 also had two very
distinct qualities like 24-bit physical addressing and a 16-bit data
bus. The original Apple Macintosh ,released in 1984, had the 8-MHz
found at the core of it. It was also found in the Macintosh Plus, the
original Macintosh SE, the Apple Laser-Writer IISC, and the Hewlett-
Packard's LaserJet printer family. The 68000 was very efficient for its
time for example it could address 16 megabytes of memory, that is 16
more times the memory than the Intel 8088 which was found in the IBM PC
. Also the 68000 has a linear addressing architecture which was better
than the 8088's segmented memory architecture because it made making
large applications more straightforward.
The 68020 was invented by Motorola in the mid-80's(Encarta 95). The
68020 is about two times as powerful as the 68000. The 68020 has 32-bit
addressing and a 32-bit data bus and is available in various speeds like
16MHz, 20MHz, 25MHz, and 33MHz. The microprocessor 68020 is found in the
original Macintosh II and in the LaserWriter IINT both of which are from
Apple.
The 68030 microprocessor was invented by Motorola about a year after the
68020 was released(Encarta 95). The 68030 has 32-bit addressing and a
32-bit data bus just like it's previous model, but it has paged memory
management built into it, delaying the need for additional chips to
provide that function. A 16-MHz version was used in the Macintosh IIx,
IIcx, and SE/30. A 25-MHz model was used in the Mac IIci and the NeXT
computer. The 68030 is produced in various versions like the 20-MHz,
33MHz, 40-MHz, and 50MHz.
The microprocessor 68040 was invented by Motorola(Encarta 95). The
68040 has a 32-bit addressing and a 32-bit data bus just like the
previous two microprocessors. But unlike the two previous
microprocessors this one runs at 25MHz and includes a built-in floating
point unit and memory management units which includes 4-KB instruction
and data coaches. Which just happens to eliminate the need additional
chips to provide these functions. Also the 68040 is capable of parallel
instruction execution by means of multiple independent instruction
pipelines, multiple internal buses, and separate caches for both data
and instructions.
The microprocessor 68881 was invented by Motorola for the use with both
microprocessor 68000 and the 68020(Encarta 95). Math coprocessors, if
supported by the application software, would speed up any function that
is math-based. The microprocessor 68881 does this by additional set of
instructions for high-proformance floating point arithmetic, a set of
floating-point data registers, and 22 built-inconstants including p and
powers of 10. The microprocessor 68881 conforms to the ANSI/IEEE 754-
1985 standard for binary floating-point arithmetic. When making the
Macintosh II, Apple noticed that when they added a 68881, the
improvement in performance of the interface, and thus the apparent
performance was changed dramatically. Apple then decided to add it as
standard equipment.
The microprocessor 80286, also called the 286was invented by Motorola in
1982(Encarta 95). The 286 was included in the IBM PC/AT and compatible
computers in 1984. The 286 has a 16-bit resister, transfers information
over the data bus 16 bits at a time, and use 24 bits to address memory
location. The 286 was able to operate in two modes real (which is
compatible with MS-DOS and limits the 8086 and 8088 chips) and protected
( which increases the microprocessor's functionality). Real mode limits
the amount of memory the microprocessor can address to one megabyte; in
protected mode, however the addressing access is increased and is
capable of accessing up to 16 megabytes of memory directly. Also, an
286 microprocessor in protected mode protects the operating system from
mis-behaved applications that could normally halt (or "crash") a system
with a non-protected microprocessor such as the 80286 in real mode or
just the plain old 8088.
The microprocessor 80386dx also called the 386 or the 386dx was invented
in 1985(Encarta 95). The 386 was used in IBM and compatible
microcomputers such as the PS/2 Model 80. The 386 is a full 32-bit
microprocessor, meaning that it has a 32-bit resister, it can easily
transfer information over its data bus 32 bits at a time, and it can use
32 bits in addressing memory. Like the earlier 80286, the 386 operates
in two modes, again real (which is compatible with MS-DOS and limits the
8086 and 8088 chips) and protected ( which increases the
microprocessor's functionality and protects the operating system from
halting because of an inadvertent application error.) Real mode limits
the amount of memory the microprocessor can address to one megabyte; in
protected mode, however the total amount of memory that the 386 can
address directly is 4 gigabytes, that is roughly 4 billion bytes. The
80386dx also has a virtual mode, which allows the operating systems to
effectively divide the 80386dx into several 8086 microprocessors each
having its own 1-megabyte space, allowing each "8086" to run its own
program.
The microprocessor 80386sx also called the 386sx was invented by Intel
in 1988 as a low-cost alternative to the 80386DX(Encarta 95). The
80386SX is in essence an 80386DX processor limited by a 16-bit data bus.
The 16-bit design allows 80386SX systems to be configured from less
expensive AT-class parts, ensuring a much lower complete system price.
The 80386SX offers enhanced performance over the 80286 and access to
software designed for the 80386DX. The 80386SX also offers 80386DX
comforts such as multitasking and virtual 8086 mode.
The microprocessor 80387SX also called the 387SX was invented by
Intel(Encarta 95). A math, or floating-point, coprocessor from Intel
for use with the 80386SX family of microprocessors. The 387sx is
available in a 16-MHz version only, the 80387SX, if supported by the
application software, can dramatically improve system performance by
offering arithmetic, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic
instructions for the application to use-instructions not offered in the
80386SX instruction set. The 80387SX also offers perfect operations for
sine, cosine, tangent, arctangent, and logarithm calculations. If used,
these additional instructions are carried out by the 80387SX, freeing
the 80386SX to perform other tasks. The 80387SX is capable of working
with 32- and 64-bit integers, 32-, 64-, and 80-bit floating-point
numbers, and 18-digit BCD (binary coded decimal) operands; it coincides
to the ANSI/IEEE 754-1985 standard for binary floating-point arithmetic.
The 80387SX operates individually on the 80386SX's mode, and it performs
as expected regardless of whether the 80386SX is running in real,
protected, or virtual 8086 mode.
The microprocessor mi486 also called the 80486 or the 486 was invented
in 1989 by Intel(Encarta 95). Like its 80386 predecessor, the 486 is a
full-bit processor with 32-bit registers, 32-bit data bus, and 32-bit
addressing. It includes several enhancements, however, including a
built-in cache controller, the built-in equivalent of an 80387 floating-
point coprocessor, and provisions for multiprocessing. In addition, the
486 uses a "pipeline" execution scheme that breaks instructions into
multiple stages, resulting in much higher performance for many common
data and integer math operations.
In conclusion it is evident by the following that microprocessors are
developing at leaps and bounds and it is not surprising that if by the
time it hits the teacher's desk or by the time you read this the next
superchip will be developed(Encarta 95).
The Communications Decency Act
The U.S. Government should not attempt to place restrictions on the internet. The Internet
does not belong to the United States and it is not our responsibility to save the world, so why
are we attempting to regulate something that belongs to the world? The
Telecommunications Reform Act has done exactly that, put regulations on the Internet.
Edward Cavazos quotes William Gibson says, "As described in Neuromancer, Cyberspace
was a consensual hallucination that felt and looked like a physical space but actually was a
computer-generated construct representing abstract data." (1) When Gibson coined that
phrase he had no idea that it would become the household word that it is today. "Cyberspace
now represents a vast array of computer systems accessible from remote physical locations."
(Cavazos 2)
The Internet has grown explosively over the last few years. "The Internet's growth since its
beginnings in 1981. At that time, the number of host systems was 213 machines. At the
time of this writing, twelve years later, the number has jumped to 1,313,000 systems
connecting directly to the Internet." (Cavazos 10)
"Privacy plays a unique role in American law." (Cavazos 13) Privacy is not explicitly
provided for in the Constitution, yet most of the Internet users remain anonymous. Cavazos
says, "Computers and digital communication technologies present a serious challenge to
legislators and judges who try to meet the demands of economic and social change while
protecting this most basic and fundamental personal freedom." Networks and the Internet
make it easy for anyone with the proper equipment to look at information based around the
world instantly and remain anonymous. "The right to conduct at least some forms of speech
activity anonymously has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court." (Cavazos 15) In
cyberspace it is extremely uncommon for someone to use their given name to conduct
themselves, but rather they use pseudonyms or "Handles". (Cavazos 14) Not only is it not
illegal to use handles on most systems, but the sysop (System Operator) does not have to
allow anyone access to his data files on who is the person behind the handle. Some sysops
make the information public, or give the option to the user, or don't collect the information at
all.
The Internet brings forth many new concerns regarding crime and computers. With movies
like Wargames, and more recently Hackers, becoming popular, computer crime is being
blown out of proportion. "The word Hacker conjures up a vivid image in the popular
media." (Cavazos 105) There are many types of computer crime that fall under the umbrella
of "Hacking". Cavazos says, "In 1986 Congress passed a comprehensive federal law
outlawing many of the activities commonly referred to as 'hacking.'" (107) Breaking into a
computer system without the proper access being given, traditional hacking, is illegal;
hacking to obtain financial information is illegal; hacking into any department or agency of
the United States is illegal; and passing passwords out with the intent for others to use them
to hack into a system without authorization is also illegal.
"One of the more troubling crimes committed in cyberspace is the illicit trafficking in credit
card numbers and other account information." (Cavazos 109) Many people on the Internet
use their credit cards to purchase things on-line, this is a dangerous practice because anyone
with your card number can do the samething with your card. Millions of dollars worth of
goods and services a year are stolen using credit card fraud. No matter how illegal, many
are not caught. With the use of anonymous names and restricted access to provider's data on
users, it becomes harder to catch the criminals on-line.
The "[Wire Fraud Act] makes it illegal for anyone to use any wire, radio, or television
communication in interstate or foreigncommerce to further a scheme to defraud people of
money or goods." (Cavazos 110) This is interpreted to include telephone communications,
therefore computer communication as well. There is much fraud on the Internet today, and
the fraud will continue until a feasable way to enforce the Wire Fraud Act comes about.
Cavazos continues, "unauthorized duplication, distribution, and use of someone else's
intellectual property is subject to civil and criminal penalties under the U.S. Copyright Act."
(111) This "intellectual property" is defined to include computer software. (Cavazos 111)
Software piracy is very widespread and rampant, and was even before the Internet became
popular.
The spread of Computer Viruses has been advanced by the popularity of the Internet. "A
virus program is the result of someone developing a mischievous program that replicates
itself, much like the living organism for which it is named." (Cavazos 114) Cyberspace
allows for the rapid transfer and downloading of software over the entire world, this includes
viruses. If a file has been corrupted before you download it, you are infecting your system.
If you then give any software in any medium to any other user you run the risk of spreading
the virus, just as if you had taken in a person sick with the bubonic plague. "Whatever the
mechanism, there can be no doubt that virus software can be readily found in cyberspace."
(Cavazos 115)
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was enacted to protect the rights of the on-line
users within the bounds of the United States. "Today the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (ECPA) makes it illegal to intercept or disclose private communications and
provides victims of such conduct a right to sue anyone violating its mandate." (Cavazos 17)
There are exceptions to this law; if you are a party of the communication you can release it
to the public, your provider can use the intercepted communication in the normal course of
employment, your provider can intercept mail for the authorities if ordered by a court, if the
communication is public, and your provider can intercept communications to record the fact
of the communication or to protect you from abuse of the system. If you are not cardful as a
criminal then you will get caught, and the number of careful criminals are increasing.
Says Cavazos, "a person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the
public shall not knowingly divulge to anyone the contents o fa communication while in
electronic storage on that service." (21) The sysop is not allowed to read your e-mail,
destroy your e-mail before you read it, nor is he allowed to make public your e-mail unless
that e-mail has already been made public.
"Many systems monitor every keystroke entered by a user. Such keystroke monitoring may
very well constitute an interception for the purposes of the ECPS." (18) If the U/S/
Government is going to continue to place restrictions on the Internet then soon we will have
to do away with free speech and communications. Says Kirsten Macdissi, "Ultmiately,
control will probably have to come from the user or a provider close to the individual user..."
(1995, p.1). Monitoring individual users is still not the answer; to cut down on fraud and
other law violations a new system must be devised to monitor the Internet that does not
violate the right to privacy and does not prevent adults from having a right to free speech.
The Constitution reads, "Amendment 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances." (1776). If you read the Communications Decency
Act of the Telecommunications Reform Act, there are now seven words taht cannot be used
on the Internet. A direct abridgement of the right to choose what we say. Yet the providers,
who have the right to edit what is submitted, choose let many things slide. The responsibility
should lie with the provider, not the U.S. Government. Says Macdissi, "As an access
provider, Mr. Dale Botkin can see who is connected, but not what they are doing." (1995).
Yet almost all providers keep a running record of what files are communivated through their
servers.
Macdissi quoted Mr. Dale Botkin, president of Probe Technology, an Internet access
provider, as saying, "'There is a grass roots organization called Safe Surf,' Botkin said.
'What they've done is come up with a way for people putting up information on the internet
to flag it as okay or not okay for kids.'" (1995). The system is idiot proof. The information
provider flags his web page as appropriate for children, the Safe Surf program will connect
to the site. If the information provider chooses to not flag his web page, or to flag it as
inappropriate for children, the Safe Surf program will not connect to the site. If this, or
something similar, were mandated for the Internet the Communications Decency Act would
be unnecessary. Says Eric Stone, an Internet user, "[The C.D.A.] attempts to place more
restrictive constraints on the conversation in cyberspace than currently exist in the Senate
Cafeteria..." (1996).
The liability is still with the end-user. The American, or fireigner, who sits in front of their
computer everyday to conduct business, chat with friends, or learn about something he didn't
know about before. For us to take liability away from the end-user we must lay the liability
on either the providers or on the system operators. Cavazos says, "the Constitution only
provides this protection where the government is infringing on your rights." (1994).
When the providers and system operators censor the users it is called editorial discretion.
When the Government does it, it is infringement of privacy. So why are we still trying to let
the Government into our personal and private lives? The popularity of the C.D.A. with the
unknowledgeable and the right conservatives makes it a very popular law. The left ant the
knowledgeable are in the minority, so our power to change this law is not great. The
Government also won't listen to us because we pose less of a threat than the majority in re-
election. This law will have to be recognized for what it is, a blatant violation of the First
Amendment right of free speech, by the average citizen before the C.D.A. will be changed.
Works Cited
Cavazos, E. (1994) Cyberspace and the law: Your rights and duties in the on-line world.
Boston: MIT Press
Macdissi, K. (1995) Enforcement is the problem with regulation of the Internet.
Midlands Business Journal
Stone, E. (1996) A Cyberspace independence declaration. Unpublished Essay,
Heretic@csulb.com (E-Mail address)
does not belong to the United States and it is not our responsibility to save the world, so why
are we attempting to regulate something that belongs to the world? The
Telecommunications Reform Act has done exactly that, put regulations on the Internet.
Edward Cavazos quotes William Gibson says, "As described in Neuromancer, Cyberspace
was a consensual hallucination that felt and looked like a physical space but actually was a
computer-generated construct representing abstract data." (1) When Gibson coined that
phrase he had no idea that it would become the household word that it is today. "Cyberspace
now represents a vast array of computer systems accessible from remote physical locations."
(Cavazos 2)
The Internet has grown explosively over the last few years. "The Internet's growth since its
beginnings in 1981. At that time, the number of host systems was 213 machines. At the
time of this writing, twelve years later, the number has jumped to 1,313,000 systems
connecting directly to the Internet." (Cavazos 10)
"Privacy plays a unique role in American law." (Cavazos 13) Privacy is not explicitly
provided for in the Constitution, yet most of the Internet users remain anonymous. Cavazos
says, "Computers and digital communication technologies present a serious challenge to
legislators and judges who try to meet the demands of economic and social change while
protecting this most basic and fundamental personal freedom." Networks and the Internet
make it easy for anyone with the proper equipment to look at information based around the
world instantly and remain anonymous. "The right to conduct at least some forms of speech
activity anonymously has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court." (Cavazos 15) In
cyberspace it is extremely uncommon for someone to use their given name to conduct
themselves, but rather they use pseudonyms or "Handles". (Cavazos 14) Not only is it not
illegal to use handles on most systems, but the sysop (System Operator) does not have to
allow anyone access to his data files on who is the person behind the handle. Some sysops
make the information public, or give the option to the user, or don't collect the information at
all.
The Internet brings forth many new concerns regarding crime and computers. With movies
like Wargames, and more recently Hackers, becoming popular, computer crime is being
blown out of proportion. "The word Hacker conjures up a vivid image in the popular
media." (Cavazos 105) There are many types of computer crime that fall under the umbrella
of "Hacking". Cavazos says, "In 1986 Congress passed a comprehensive federal law
outlawing many of the activities commonly referred to as 'hacking.'" (107) Breaking into a
computer system without the proper access being given, traditional hacking, is illegal;
hacking to obtain financial information is illegal; hacking into any department or agency of
the United States is illegal; and passing passwords out with the intent for others to use them
to hack into a system without authorization is also illegal.
"One of the more troubling crimes committed in cyberspace is the illicit trafficking in credit
card numbers and other account information." (Cavazos 109) Many people on the Internet
use their credit cards to purchase things on-line, this is a dangerous practice because anyone
with your card number can do the samething with your card. Millions of dollars worth of
goods and services a year are stolen using credit card fraud. No matter how illegal, many
are not caught. With the use of anonymous names and restricted access to provider's data on
users, it becomes harder to catch the criminals on-line.
The "[Wire Fraud Act] makes it illegal for anyone to use any wire, radio, or television
communication in interstate or foreigncommerce to further a scheme to defraud people of
money or goods." (Cavazos 110) This is interpreted to include telephone communications,
therefore computer communication as well. There is much fraud on the Internet today, and
the fraud will continue until a feasable way to enforce the Wire Fraud Act comes about.
Cavazos continues, "unauthorized duplication, distribution, and use of someone else's
intellectual property is subject to civil and criminal penalties under the U.S. Copyright Act."
(111) This "intellectual property" is defined to include computer software. (Cavazos 111)
Software piracy is very widespread and rampant, and was even before the Internet became
popular.
The spread of Computer Viruses has been advanced by the popularity of the Internet. "A
virus program is the result of someone developing a mischievous program that replicates
itself, much like the living organism for which it is named." (Cavazos 114) Cyberspace
allows for the rapid transfer and downloading of software over the entire world, this includes
viruses. If a file has been corrupted before you download it, you are infecting your system.
If you then give any software in any medium to any other user you run the risk of spreading
the virus, just as if you had taken in a person sick with the bubonic plague. "Whatever the
mechanism, there can be no doubt that virus software can be readily found in cyberspace."
(Cavazos 115)
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act was enacted to protect the rights of the on-line
users within the bounds of the United States. "Today the Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (ECPA) makes it illegal to intercept or disclose private communications and
provides victims of such conduct a right to sue anyone violating its mandate." (Cavazos 17)
There are exceptions to this law; if you are a party of the communication you can release it
to the public, your provider can use the intercepted communication in the normal course of
employment, your provider can intercept mail for the authorities if ordered by a court, if the
communication is public, and your provider can intercept communications to record the fact
of the communication or to protect you from abuse of the system. If you are not cardful as a
criminal then you will get caught, and the number of careful criminals are increasing.
Says Cavazos, "a person or entity providing an electronic communication service to the
public shall not knowingly divulge to anyone the contents o fa communication while in
electronic storage on that service." (21) The sysop is not allowed to read your e-mail,
destroy your e-mail before you read it, nor is he allowed to make public your e-mail unless
that e-mail has already been made public.
"Many systems monitor every keystroke entered by a user. Such keystroke monitoring may
very well constitute an interception for the purposes of the ECPS." (18) If the U/S/
Government is going to continue to place restrictions on the Internet then soon we will have
to do away with free speech and communications. Says Kirsten Macdissi, "Ultmiately,
control will probably have to come from the user or a provider close to the individual user..."
(1995, p.1). Monitoring individual users is still not the answer; to cut down on fraud and
other law violations a new system must be devised to monitor the Internet that does not
violate the right to privacy and does not prevent adults from having a right to free speech.
The Constitution reads, "Amendment 1. Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances." (1776). If you read the Communications Decency
Act of the Telecommunications Reform Act, there are now seven words taht cannot be used
on the Internet. A direct abridgement of the right to choose what we say. Yet the providers,
who have the right to edit what is submitted, choose let many things slide. The responsibility
should lie with the provider, not the U.S. Government. Says Macdissi, "As an access
provider, Mr. Dale Botkin can see who is connected, but not what they are doing." (1995).
Yet almost all providers keep a running record of what files are communivated through their
servers.
Macdissi quoted Mr. Dale Botkin, president of Probe Technology, an Internet access
provider, as saying, "'There is a grass roots organization called Safe Surf,' Botkin said.
'What they've done is come up with a way for people putting up information on the internet
to flag it as okay or not okay for kids.'" (1995). The system is idiot proof. The information
provider flags his web page as appropriate for children, the Safe Surf program will connect
to the site. If the information provider chooses to not flag his web page, or to flag it as
inappropriate for children, the Safe Surf program will not connect to the site. If this, or
something similar, were mandated for the Internet the Communications Decency Act would
be unnecessary. Says Eric Stone, an Internet user, "[The C.D.A.] attempts to place more
restrictive constraints on the conversation in cyberspace than currently exist in the Senate
Cafeteria..." (1996).
The liability is still with the end-user. The American, or fireigner, who sits in front of their
computer everyday to conduct business, chat with friends, or learn about something he didn't
know about before. For us to take liability away from the end-user we must lay the liability
on either the providers or on the system operators. Cavazos says, "the Constitution only
provides this protection where the government is infringing on your rights." (1994).
When the providers and system operators censor the users it is called editorial discretion.
When the Government does it, it is infringement of privacy. So why are we still trying to let
the Government into our personal and private lives? The popularity of the C.D.A. with the
unknowledgeable and the right conservatives makes it a very popular law. The left ant the
knowledgeable are in the minority, so our power to change this law is not great. The
Government also won't listen to us because we pose less of a threat than the majority in re-
election. This law will have to be recognized for what it is, a blatant violation of the First
Amendment right of free speech, by the average citizen before the C.D.A. will be changed.
Works Cited
Cavazos, E. (1994) Cyberspace and the law: Your rights and duties in the on-line world.
Boston: MIT Press
Macdissi, K. (1995) Enforcement is the problem with regulation of the Internet.
Midlands Business Journal
Stone, E. (1996) A Cyberspace independence declaration. Unpublished Essay,
Heretic@csulb.com (E-Mail address)
Save the Internet!
Did you know that 83.5% of the images available on the Internet were pornographic (Kershaw)? Did you know that pornography on the Internet is readily available to curious little children who happen to bump into them?
Today, the Internet which has only become popular several years ago, is unequivocally one of the most revolutionary innovations in the computer world. The information superhighway has changed peoples' lives dramatically and have created many new exciting opportunities as well as markets to be exploited. But, unfortunately, the Internet also has created a haven for the depravity of pornography and hate literature. Therefore, this has called for immediate action and the only solution up to today is censorship. The Internet must be censored to the utmost.
Many people complain that censorship is the violation of the first amendment and the suppression of freedom of speech but there is a point where freedom of speech becomes corrupt; freedom of speech only creates an excuse for the vile pornographers to poison our nation let alone our children.
Pornography is regarded as immoral and downright filthy by the people. It denies human dignity and often stimulates the user to violent acts (Beahm 295). Therefore, pornography and violence are correlated. It trivializes the human beauty and converts it into commercialized slime (Beahm 295). Moreover, the consumption of pornography can lead to a detrimental addiction and the consumer can become a slave to it (Beahm 297). In short, pornography is a very addictive drug; which has an equal or more potency to hard-core drugs like heroin and cocaine. Can you imagine a ten year-old innocently surfing the Internet and suddenly bumps into a pornographic site depicting explicit images of naked women and becoming addicted to it? The damage is long-term and when the time comes, we will have a nation of perverts. Galbraith says, "The U.S. constitution does not forbid the protection of children from a pornographer's freedom of speech. That must be inferred through the First Amendment." These are our children and we have the right to protect them. The fact that pornography is damaging mentally is further aggravated as the availability of pornography to all Internet users is a major problem as well.
The ridiculously easy accessibility to all types pornography; by anyone who logs into the Internet has raised a major concern from both the government and the public. The Internet, being the biggest interactive library ever existed, has no owner, President, chief operating officer or pope (Montoya). "Inevitably, being an uncontrolled system, means that the Internet will be subjected to subversive applications of some unscrupulous users." (Kershaw) Internet users can publish pornography and hate literature that information is literally made available to millions of Internet users worldwide (Kershaw).
A five year-old can easily obtain pornography on the Internet by just typing the word "sex" in the search engine and literally hundreds of thousands of listing will appear on-screen, each leading to a smut page. This type of easy accessibility have people calling for censorship (Kershaw).
"Most popular images available were of hardcore scenes featuring such acts as paedophilia, defection, bestiality and bondage." (Kershaw) According to Chidley, "In 1994, more than 450,000 pornographic images and text files were available to the Internet users around the world; that information had been accessed more than 6 million times." (58) This shocking figure is further agitated by the fact that pornography would be very harmful to the young unsuspecting child who happens to stumble on it while roaming about cyberspace (Kershaw). Remember, our children is our most important resource in the future; we have to refrain them from negative influences so that they could be good citizens of tomorrow.
"Regulating the Internet might be the only way to protect Internet users including our children from accessing obscene pages." (Montoya) Singapore has taken an encouraging step to establish a "neighborhood police post" on the Internet to monitor and receive complaints of criminal activity-including the distribution of pornography (Chidley 58). They have also implemented proxy servers to partially filter our pornographic sites such as "Playboy" and "Penthouse" from access. An anonymous author quotes, "When such material is discovered, access providers could be alerted, and required to deny entry to the sites concerned." (Only) This is an ideal approach to censorship and should be exercised in every country. Parents at home can also be more responsible over what information is retrieved by their young ones by installing programs like SurfWatch that will block pornography from access (Quitter 45). In addition to this problem, child pornography also prevails over the Internet.
Another distressing issue about the Internet is the presence of child pornography; "Digitally scanned images of ... naked boys and girls-populate cyberspace." (Chidley 58) Innocent-looking little boys and girls were forced to undress and they pictures are published on the Internet. How degrading of us as human beings! Furthermore, possession of child pornography is an offense and the "police are concerned that a shadowy pedophiles' ring, offering child pornography and information on where and how to indulge in their fetish, is operating on an international scale." (Chidley 58) By censoring the Internet, not only you'll keep the public save from the wickedness of pornography, but you'll also help enforcing the law. Pornography is not the only problem on the Internet; as there are many others; some of which I will describe next.
Another issue that concerns me is that publications such as bomb making manuals are easily available online (Kershaw 2). According to Kershaw, "...the wrong people can now get their hands on this information without having to leave the secrecy of their home." (2) This easy availability of such material promotes terrorism-the information obtained to make the bomb found in Centennial park in Atlanta during the Olympics is available on the Internet. The bomb had created a big chaos but fortunately, there were no fatal casualties. However, not all terrorists' attempts were unsuccessful, thousands of innocent people and children have been killed in the Oklahoma bombing and the subway massacre in Tokyo. Moreover, many curious children have lost their fingers and even their lives by experimenting with bomb making. This must stop immediately! Another non-pornographic problem about the Internet is the availability of hate literature.
The Internet has also been a place where people express their hatred and anger toward other people. Kershaw says, "...newsgroups on the Internet contain messages which could incite violence against members of various racial, ethnic or religious groups or messages which deny the Holocaust." This sort of information advocates racism and other types of sensitive discrimination. In many countries, the problem of racism is almost unheard of today, but the problem will surface up if we let the racists minorities influence public. Racism will then tear our nation apart and trigger many wars from trivial matters. Kershaw also says that groups such as the neo-Nazi of America are not uncommon and have many people worry that the Net gives these types of groups a meeting place and a source of empowerment (2). Kershaw also stresses, "One particularly disturbing message found on the Net one week after the Oklahoma bombing that read, 'I want to make bombs and kill evil Zionist people in the government. Teach me. Give me text files.'" The Internet is meant to be a medium that promotes healthy qualities; not a place of hate and evil. "There is a difference between free speech and teaching others how to kill." (Kershaw)
Overall, the Internet has many useful applications which are educational and a fresh source of entertainment when television gets too boring. However, we shall not feel too complacent and ignore the deleterious face of the Internet. We will not rest on our laurels until the Internet is completely free from pornography and other unhealthy elements. Otherwise, the Internet will slowly but surely end up to be sleazy slums operated and dominated by notorious gangs and secret societies. While now it seems difficult to censor the Internet; however, we shall attempt our very best to do so to keep our children away from the dark side of the Internet; our children remains our highest priority. Let's attack this problem at its source by censoring the Internet as that is to only rational solution up to today. We do not want our world to be ravaged by the present situation of Internet!
WORKS CITED
Beahm, George. War of Words-The Censorship Debate. Kansas City : Andrew and McMeel, 1993.
Chidley, Joe. "Red-Light District." Maclean's 22 May 1995.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Page That Formerly Occupied This Site Has Been Taken Down in Disgust!" http://user.holli.com/~kathh/anti.htm
Kershaw, Dave. "Censorship and the Internet."
http://cmns-web.comm.sfu.ca/cmns353/96-1/dkershaw 2 Apr. 1996
Montoya, Drake. "The Internet and Censorship." http://esoptron.umd.edu/FUSFOLDER/dmontoya.html 1995
"Only disconnect." The Economist 1 July 1995.
Quittner, Joshua. "How Parents Can Filter Out the Naughty Bits." Time 13 July 1995.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beahm, George. War of Words-The Censorship Debate. Kansas City : Andrew and McMeel, 1993.
Chidley, Joe. "Red-Light District." Maclean's 22 May 1995.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Page That Formerly Occupied This Site Has Been Taken Down in Disgust!" http://user.holli.com/~kathh/anti.htm
Jensen, Carl. Censored: The News That Didn't Make the News-AND WHY. New York : Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994.
Kershaw, Dave. "Censorship and the Internet."
http://cmns-web.comm.sfu.ca/cmns353/96-1/dkershaw 2 Apr. 1996
Montoya, Drake. "The Internet and Censorship." http://esoptron.umd.edu/FUSFOLDER/dmontoya.html 1995
"Only disconnect." The Economist 1 July 1995.
"Pulling the Plug on Porn." Time 8 January 1996.
Quittner, Joshua. "How Parents Can Filter Out the Naughty Bits." Time 13 July 1995.
Today, the Internet which has only become popular several years ago, is unequivocally one of the most revolutionary innovations in the computer world. The information superhighway has changed peoples' lives dramatically and have created many new exciting opportunities as well as markets to be exploited. But, unfortunately, the Internet also has created a haven for the depravity of pornography and hate literature. Therefore, this has called for immediate action and the only solution up to today is censorship. The Internet must be censored to the utmost.
Many people complain that censorship is the violation of the first amendment and the suppression of freedom of speech but there is a point where freedom of speech becomes corrupt; freedom of speech only creates an excuse for the vile pornographers to poison our nation let alone our children.
Pornography is regarded as immoral and downright filthy by the people. It denies human dignity and often stimulates the user to violent acts (Beahm 295). Therefore, pornography and violence are correlated. It trivializes the human beauty and converts it into commercialized slime (Beahm 295). Moreover, the consumption of pornography can lead to a detrimental addiction and the consumer can become a slave to it (Beahm 297). In short, pornography is a very addictive drug; which has an equal or more potency to hard-core drugs like heroin and cocaine. Can you imagine a ten year-old innocently surfing the Internet and suddenly bumps into a pornographic site depicting explicit images of naked women and becoming addicted to it? The damage is long-term and when the time comes, we will have a nation of perverts. Galbraith says, "The U.S. constitution does not forbid the protection of children from a pornographer's freedom of speech. That must be inferred through the First Amendment." These are our children and we have the right to protect them. The fact that pornography is damaging mentally is further aggravated as the availability of pornography to all Internet users is a major problem as well.
The ridiculously easy accessibility to all types pornography; by anyone who logs into the Internet has raised a major concern from both the government and the public. The Internet, being the biggest interactive library ever existed, has no owner, President, chief operating officer or pope (Montoya). "Inevitably, being an uncontrolled system, means that the Internet will be subjected to subversive applications of some unscrupulous users." (Kershaw) Internet users can publish pornography and hate literature that information is literally made available to millions of Internet users worldwide (Kershaw).
A five year-old can easily obtain pornography on the Internet by just typing the word "sex" in the search engine and literally hundreds of thousands of listing will appear on-screen, each leading to a smut page. This type of easy accessibility have people calling for censorship (Kershaw).
"Most popular images available were of hardcore scenes featuring such acts as paedophilia, defection, bestiality and bondage." (Kershaw) According to Chidley, "In 1994, more than 450,000 pornographic images and text files were available to the Internet users around the world; that information had been accessed more than 6 million times." (58) This shocking figure is further agitated by the fact that pornography would be very harmful to the young unsuspecting child who happens to stumble on it while roaming about cyberspace (Kershaw). Remember, our children is our most important resource in the future; we have to refrain them from negative influences so that they could be good citizens of tomorrow.
"Regulating the Internet might be the only way to protect Internet users including our children from accessing obscene pages." (Montoya) Singapore has taken an encouraging step to establish a "neighborhood police post" on the Internet to monitor and receive complaints of criminal activity-including the distribution of pornography (Chidley 58). They have also implemented proxy servers to partially filter our pornographic sites such as "Playboy" and "Penthouse" from access. An anonymous author quotes, "When such material is discovered, access providers could be alerted, and required to deny entry to the sites concerned." (Only) This is an ideal approach to censorship and should be exercised in every country. Parents at home can also be more responsible over what information is retrieved by their young ones by installing programs like SurfWatch that will block pornography from access (Quitter 45). In addition to this problem, child pornography also prevails over the Internet.
Another distressing issue about the Internet is the presence of child pornography; "Digitally scanned images of ... naked boys and girls-populate cyberspace." (Chidley 58) Innocent-looking little boys and girls were forced to undress and they pictures are published on the Internet. How degrading of us as human beings! Furthermore, possession of child pornography is an offense and the "police are concerned that a shadowy pedophiles' ring, offering child pornography and information on where and how to indulge in their fetish, is operating on an international scale." (Chidley 58) By censoring the Internet, not only you'll keep the public save from the wickedness of pornography, but you'll also help enforcing the law. Pornography is not the only problem on the Internet; as there are many others; some of which I will describe next.
Another issue that concerns me is that publications such as bomb making manuals are easily available online (Kershaw 2). According to Kershaw, "...the wrong people can now get their hands on this information without having to leave the secrecy of their home." (2) This easy availability of such material promotes terrorism-the information obtained to make the bomb found in Centennial park in Atlanta during the Olympics is available on the Internet. The bomb had created a big chaos but fortunately, there were no fatal casualties. However, not all terrorists' attempts were unsuccessful, thousands of innocent people and children have been killed in the Oklahoma bombing and the subway massacre in Tokyo. Moreover, many curious children have lost their fingers and even their lives by experimenting with bomb making. This must stop immediately! Another non-pornographic problem about the Internet is the availability of hate literature.
The Internet has also been a place where people express their hatred and anger toward other people. Kershaw says, "...newsgroups on the Internet contain messages which could incite violence against members of various racial, ethnic or religious groups or messages which deny the Holocaust." This sort of information advocates racism and other types of sensitive discrimination. In many countries, the problem of racism is almost unheard of today, but the problem will surface up if we let the racists minorities influence public. Racism will then tear our nation apart and trigger many wars from trivial matters. Kershaw also says that groups such as the neo-Nazi of America are not uncommon and have many people worry that the Net gives these types of groups a meeting place and a source of empowerment (2). Kershaw also stresses, "One particularly disturbing message found on the Net one week after the Oklahoma bombing that read, 'I want to make bombs and kill evil Zionist people in the government. Teach me. Give me text files.'" The Internet is meant to be a medium that promotes healthy qualities; not a place of hate and evil. "There is a difference between free speech and teaching others how to kill." (Kershaw)
Overall, the Internet has many useful applications which are educational and a fresh source of entertainment when television gets too boring. However, we shall not feel too complacent and ignore the deleterious face of the Internet. We will not rest on our laurels until the Internet is completely free from pornography and other unhealthy elements. Otherwise, the Internet will slowly but surely end up to be sleazy slums operated and dominated by notorious gangs and secret societies. While now it seems difficult to censor the Internet; however, we shall attempt our very best to do so to keep our children away from the dark side of the Internet; our children remains our highest priority. Let's attack this problem at its source by censoring the Internet as that is to only rational solution up to today. We do not want our world to be ravaged by the present situation of Internet!
WORKS CITED
Beahm, George. War of Words-The Censorship Debate. Kansas City : Andrew and McMeel, 1993.
Chidley, Joe. "Red-Light District." Maclean's 22 May 1995.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Page That Formerly Occupied This Site Has Been Taken Down in Disgust!" http://user.holli.com/~kathh/anti.htm
Kershaw, Dave. "Censorship and the Internet."
http://cmns-web.comm.sfu.ca/cmns353/96-1/dkershaw 2 Apr. 1996
Montoya, Drake. "The Internet and Censorship." http://esoptron.umd.edu/FUSFOLDER/dmontoya.html 1995
"Only disconnect." The Economist 1 July 1995.
Quittner, Joshua. "How Parents Can Filter Out the Naughty Bits." Time 13 July 1995.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beahm, George. War of Words-The Censorship Debate. Kansas City : Andrew and McMeel, 1993.
Chidley, Joe. "Red-Light District." Maclean's 22 May 1995.
Galbraith, John Kenneth. "The Page That Formerly Occupied This Site Has Been Taken Down in Disgust!" http://user.holli.com/~kathh/anti.htm
Jensen, Carl. Censored: The News That Didn't Make the News-AND WHY. New York : Four Walls Eight Windows, 1994.
Kershaw, Dave. "Censorship and the Internet."
http://cmns-web.comm.sfu.ca/cmns353/96-1/dkershaw 2 Apr. 1996
Montoya, Drake. "The Internet and Censorship." http://esoptron.umd.edu/FUSFOLDER/dmontoya.html 1995
"Only disconnect." The Economist 1 July 1995.
"Pulling the Plug on Porn." Time 8 January 1996.
Quittner, Joshua. "How Parents Can Filter Out the Naughty Bits." Time 13 July 1995.
Quality Issues in Systems Development
The period between the 1970's and 1980's was a time of great advancement in computer hardware technology which took an industry still in it's infancy, to a level of much sophistication and which ultimately revelutionised the information storage and processing needs of every other industry and that of the entire world. However, it was also during this period when the shortcomings of implementing such technology became apparent. A significant number of development projects failed which resulted with disastrous consequences, not only of an economic nature, but social aswell. Seemingly, although hardware technolgy was readily available and ever improving, what was inhibiting the industry was in the methods of implementing large systems. Consequently, all kinds of limited approaches materialized that avoided the costs and risks inherent in big-systems developments.
Times have changed, and with it our understanding and experience as how best to develop large systems. Today's large systems yield greater benefits for less cost than those of previous decades. Large systems provide better, more timely information, the ability to integrate and correlate internal and external information, the ability to integrate and facilitate streamlined business processes. Unfortunately, not every system that information workers develop are well implemented; this means that the computer system which was originally intended to make a company more efficient, productive and cost-effective, is in the end doing the exact opposite - namely, wasting time, money and valuable manpower.
So even with all the lessons learned from the 70's and 80's, our vastly superior methodologies and knowledge of the 90's is still proving to be fallible, as suggested in the following examples.
System Development Failures
In Britain, 1993, an incident occurred which forced the London Ambulance Service to abandon its emergency system after it performed disastrously on delivery, causing delays in answering calls. An independent inquiry ordered by British government agencies found that the ambulance service had accepted a suspiciously low bid from a small and inexperienced supplier. The inquiry report, released in February 1993, determined that the system was far too small to cope with the data load. For an emergency service, the system error would not only cause the loss of money, but more essentially, fail to dispatch ambulances correctly and promptly upon the arising of critical situations. Thus, the implications of such a failure are apparently obvious, both socially and economically. Since the failures, the ambulance service has reverted to a paper-based system that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Another failure was the collapse of the Taurus trading system of the London Stock Exchange. Taurus would have replaced the shuffling of six sorts of paper among three places over two weeks - which is how transactions in shares are settled in London-with a computerized system able to settle trades in three days. The five-year Taurus development effort, which sources estimated cost hundreds of millions of dollars, was termed a disaster, and the project was abandoned in March 1993. Exchange officials have acknowledged that the failure put the future of the Exchange in danger.
Why did they fail?
What went wrong with these systems? The real failure in the case of the London Stock Exchange was managerial, both at the exchange and among member firms. The exchange's bosses gave the project managers too much rope, allowing them to fiddle with specifications and bring in too many outside consultants and computer firms. Its new board, having heavy-weight and diverse membership, proved too remote from the project. Member firms that spent years griping about Taurus's cost and delays did not communicate their doubts concerning the project. The Bank of England, a strong Taurus supporter, failed to ask enough questions, despite having had to rescue the exchange's earlier attempt to computerize settlement of the gilts market. According to Meredith , an expert in project management issues, many system development catastrophes begin with the selection of a low bidder to do a project, even though most procurement rules state that cost should be only one of several criteria of designation. The software failure occurs because the companies involved did not do a risk assessment prior to starting a project. In addition, many companies do not study the problems experienced in earlier software development projects, so they cannot apply that data when implementing new projects.
Another source of problems is the failure to measure the quality of output during the development process. Information workers as yet have not fully understood the relationship that exists between information and development. It is shown that information should be viewed as one of the essential know-how resources. The value and necessity of information for development is argued. An attempt is made to classify the various areas where information is needed for development, as well as the information systems and infrastructures available or required to provide for the different needs. There are a number of reasons why information has not yet played a significant role in development. One reason is that planners, developers and governments do not yet acknowledge the role of information as a basic resource. Another is that the quality of existing information services is such that they cannot yet make an effective contribution to information provision for development.
Avoiding development failure
Companies blame their unfinished system projects on such factors as poor technology, excessive budgets, and lack of employee interest. Yet, all these factors can be easily avoided. All that is needed to develop and implement successful systems is a strong corporate commitment and a basic formula which has proven effective time after time. By following the guidelines below, any system workers can install and implement a successful, efficient system quickly and with minimal disruption to the workplace.
Understand your workplace-every company must fully understand its existing environment in order to successfully change it.
Define a vision for the future- This objective view will help the company develop a clear vision of the future.
Share the vision- In order for the system to be successful, all those who are involved in its development must fully buy into the process and end-product. This will also help further define specific goals and expectations.
Organize a steering committee-This committee, which must be headed by the executive who is most affected by the success or failure of the project, has to be committed and involved throughout all stages.
Develop a plan-The project plan should represent the path to the vision and finely detail the major stages of the project, while still allowing room for refinement along the way. Select a Team of users- A sampling of company employees is important to help create, and then test, the system. In the Laboratory systems failure case . That means both the vendor and laboratory should identify what users know and what they need to know to get the best out of the LIS. They must also develop a formal training plan before selecting a system.
Create a prototype-Before investing major dollars into building the system, consider investing in the development of a prototype or mock system which physically represents the end product. This is similar in concept to an architect's model, which allows one to actually touch and feel the end product before it is created.
Have the users actually develop the system- It is the end-users who will directly benefit from the system, so why not let them have a hand in developing it? In the DME is DBA case , the fault that the Open Software Foundation(OSF) make it's Distributed Management Environment system fail is the OSF tried to go from theory to perfect product without the real-would trial and error that is so critical to technology development.
Build the solution-With a model in place, building the solution is relatively easy for the programmer. Users continue to play an important role at this stage ensuring smooth communication and accurate user requirement.
Implement the system-Testing the system, training and learning new procedures can now begin. Because the majority of time up until now has been spend planning and organizing, implementation should be smooth and natural, and most importantly quick.
The Role of SAA and ACS in the Assurance of Quality
The Standards Association of Australia was established in 1922 as the Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association. Their original focus was on engineering, subsequently it expanded to include manufacturing standards, product specifications and quality assurance and consumer-related standards. The role the SAA play is in quality certification. According to SAA, a standard is a published document which sets out the minimum requirements necessary to ensure that a material, product, or method will do the job it is intended to do. For systems development, both the Standards Association of Australia and Australian Computer Society give the guides and standards to develop a system and to control the quality of a system and to prevent failure from occurring. They also make the standard of the system developed connectable world wide.
When software development projects fail, they usually fail in a big way. For large development projects, the cost is typically astronomical, both in terms of dollars spent and human resources consumed, some with even further reaching implications effecting adversely the whole of a society. Too often, mistakes made in developing one project are perpetuated in subsequent ones. As with the error which occurred in the London Stock Exchange system, what they should have done was find out how the system allowed the error to happen and fix it, then learn from it for making better developments for future information systems.
Bibliography:
1. Fail-safe Advice, Software Magazine, George Black, 3/93
2. All fall down, The Economist, Anonymous, 20/3/93
3. DME is DBA(Dead Before Arrival), Data Communications, Robin Layland, 2/94
4. There's No Excuse for Failure, Canadian Manager, Selim EI Raheb, 9/92
5. Laboratory Systems failure: The enemy may be us, Computers in
Healthcare, Stanley J. Geyer, M.D., 9/93
6. Australian Standard Software quality management system, Standards
Australia
Times have changed, and with it our understanding and experience as how best to develop large systems. Today's large systems yield greater benefits for less cost than those of previous decades. Large systems provide better, more timely information, the ability to integrate and correlate internal and external information, the ability to integrate and facilitate streamlined business processes. Unfortunately, not every system that information workers develop are well implemented; this means that the computer system which was originally intended to make a company more efficient, productive and cost-effective, is in the end doing the exact opposite - namely, wasting time, money and valuable manpower.
So even with all the lessons learned from the 70's and 80's, our vastly superior methodologies and knowledge of the 90's is still proving to be fallible, as suggested in the following examples.
System Development Failures
In Britain, 1993, an incident occurred which forced the London Ambulance Service to abandon its emergency system after it performed disastrously on delivery, causing delays in answering calls. An independent inquiry ordered by British government agencies found that the ambulance service had accepted a suspiciously low bid from a small and inexperienced supplier. The inquiry report, released in February 1993, determined that the system was far too small to cope with the data load. For an emergency service, the system error would not only cause the loss of money, but more essentially, fail to dispatch ambulances correctly and promptly upon the arising of critical situations. Thus, the implications of such a failure are apparently obvious, both socially and economically. Since the failures, the ambulance service has reverted to a paper-based system that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Another failure was the collapse of the Taurus trading system of the London Stock Exchange. Taurus would have replaced the shuffling of six sorts of paper among three places over two weeks - which is how transactions in shares are settled in London-with a computerized system able to settle trades in three days. The five-year Taurus development effort, which sources estimated cost hundreds of millions of dollars, was termed a disaster, and the project was abandoned in March 1993. Exchange officials have acknowledged that the failure put the future of the Exchange in danger.
Why did they fail?
What went wrong with these systems? The real failure in the case of the London Stock Exchange was managerial, both at the exchange and among member firms. The exchange's bosses gave the project managers too much rope, allowing them to fiddle with specifications and bring in too many outside consultants and computer firms. Its new board, having heavy-weight and diverse membership, proved too remote from the project. Member firms that spent years griping about Taurus's cost and delays did not communicate their doubts concerning the project. The Bank of England, a strong Taurus supporter, failed to ask enough questions, despite having had to rescue the exchange's earlier attempt to computerize settlement of the gilts market. According to Meredith , an expert in project management issues, many system development catastrophes begin with the selection of a low bidder to do a project, even though most procurement rules state that cost should be only one of several criteria of designation. The software failure occurs because the companies involved did not do a risk assessment prior to starting a project. In addition, many companies do not study the problems experienced in earlier software development projects, so they cannot apply that data when implementing new projects.
Another source of problems is the failure to measure the quality of output during the development process. Information workers as yet have not fully understood the relationship that exists between information and development. It is shown that information should be viewed as one of the essential know-how resources. The value and necessity of information for development is argued. An attempt is made to classify the various areas where information is needed for development, as well as the information systems and infrastructures available or required to provide for the different needs. There are a number of reasons why information has not yet played a significant role in development. One reason is that planners, developers and governments do not yet acknowledge the role of information as a basic resource. Another is that the quality of existing information services is such that they cannot yet make an effective contribution to information provision for development.
Avoiding development failure
Companies blame their unfinished system projects on such factors as poor technology, excessive budgets, and lack of employee interest. Yet, all these factors can be easily avoided. All that is needed to develop and implement successful systems is a strong corporate commitment and a basic formula which has proven effective time after time. By following the guidelines below, any system workers can install and implement a successful, efficient system quickly and with minimal disruption to the workplace.
Understand your workplace-every company must fully understand its existing environment in order to successfully change it.
Define a vision for the future- This objective view will help the company develop a clear vision of the future.
Share the vision- In order for the system to be successful, all those who are involved in its development must fully buy into the process and end-product. This will also help further define specific goals and expectations.
Organize a steering committee-This committee, which must be headed by the executive who is most affected by the success or failure of the project, has to be committed and involved throughout all stages.
Develop a plan-The project plan should represent the path to the vision and finely detail the major stages of the project, while still allowing room for refinement along the way. Select a Team of users- A sampling of company employees is important to help create, and then test, the system. In the Laboratory systems failure case . That means both the vendor and laboratory should identify what users know and what they need to know to get the best out of the LIS. They must also develop a formal training plan before selecting a system.
Create a prototype-Before investing major dollars into building the system, consider investing in the development of a prototype or mock system which physically represents the end product. This is similar in concept to an architect's model, which allows one to actually touch and feel the end product before it is created.
Have the users actually develop the system- It is the end-users who will directly benefit from the system, so why not let them have a hand in developing it? In the DME is DBA case , the fault that the Open Software Foundation(OSF) make it's Distributed Management Environment system fail is the OSF tried to go from theory to perfect product without the real-would trial and error that is so critical to technology development.
Build the solution-With a model in place, building the solution is relatively easy for the programmer. Users continue to play an important role at this stage ensuring smooth communication and accurate user requirement.
Implement the system-Testing the system, training and learning new procedures can now begin. Because the majority of time up until now has been spend planning and organizing, implementation should be smooth and natural, and most importantly quick.
The Role of SAA and ACS in the Assurance of Quality
The Standards Association of Australia was established in 1922 as the Australian Commonwealth Engineering Standards Association. Their original focus was on engineering, subsequently it expanded to include manufacturing standards, product specifications and quality assurance and consumer-related standards. The role the SAA play is in quality certification. According to SAA, a standard is a published document which sets out the minimum requirements necessary to ensure that a material, product, or method will do the job it is intended to do. For systems development, both the Standards Association of Australia and Australian Computer Society give the guides and standards to develop a system and to control the quality of a system and to prevent failure from occurring. They also make the standard of the system developed connectable world wide.
When software development projects fail, they usually fail in a big way. For large development projects, the cost is typically astronomical, both in terms of dollars spent and human resources consumed, some with even further reaching implications effecting adversely the whole of a society. Too often, mistakes made in developing one project are perpetuated in subsequent ones. As with the error which occurred in the London Stock Exchange system, what they should have done was find out how the system allowed the error to happen and fix it, then learn from it for making better developments for future information systems.
Bibliography:
1. Fail-safe Advice, Software Magazine, George Black, 3/93
2. All fall down, The Economist, Anonymous, 20/3/93
3. DME is DBA(Dead Before Arrival), Data Communications, Robin Layland, 2/94
4. There's No Excuse for Failure, Canadian Manager, Selim EI Raheb, 9/92
5. Laboratory Systems failure: The enemy may be us, Computers in
Healthcare, Stanley J. Geyer, M.D., 9/93
6. Australian Standard Software quality management system, Standards
Australia
Past Present and Future of computers
Imagine being able to do almost anything right from your own living room. You could order a pizza, watch cartoons, or play video games with people from around the entire world. All are possible today with your computer. The beginnings of the computer started off in a rather unique way. It was first used to produce intricate designs with silk, a task far to long a tedious for a human to do constantly. It¹s really unbelievable how the computers changed from that to what they are now. Today, computers are completely astounding. The possibilities are endless. Who knows where they will take us in the years ahead. The computer is the most influential piece of equipment that has ever been invented.
The begginings of the computer are actually kind of strange. It started in the 1800¹s when a man named Charles Babbage wanted to make a calculating machine. He created a machine that would calculate logarithms on a system of constant difference and record the results on a metal plate. The machine was aptly named the Difference Engine. Within ten years, the Analytical Engine was produced. This machine could perform several tasks. These tasks would be givin to the machine and could figure out values of almost any algebraic equation. Soon, a silk weaver wanted to make very intricate designs. The designs were stored on punch-cards which could be fed into the loom in order to produce the designs requested. This is an odd beginning for the most powerful invention in the world.
In the 1930¹s, a man named Konrad Zuse started to make his own type of computer. Out of his works, he made several good advances in the world of computing. First, he developed the binary coding system. This was a base two system which allowed computers to read information with either a 1 or a 0. This is the same as an on or and off. The on or off functions could be created through switches. These switches were utilized with vacuum tubes. The functions could then be relayed as fast as electrons jumping between plates. This was all during the time of the Second World War and further advancements were made in the area of cryptology. Computer advancements were needed in order for the Allied Coding Center in London to decode encrypted Nazi messages. Speed was of the essence, so scientists developed the first fully valve driven computer. Before this, computers only had a number of valves, none were fully driven by them because of the complexity and difficulty of producing it. Despite the odds, several Cambridge professors accomplished the mammoth task. Once it was built, the computer could decode the encrypted messages in enough time to be of use, and was an important factor in the end of World War II.
The war also provided advancements in the United States as well. The trajectory of artillery shells was a complex process that took alot of time to compute on the field. A new, more powerful computer was in dire need. Working with the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, the Ballistics Research Laboratory created the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. The ENIAC could compute things a thousand times faster than any machine built before it. Even though it was not completed until 1946 and was not any help during the war, it provided another launching pad for scientists and inventors of the near future. The only problem with the ENIAC was that it was a long a tedious process to program it. What was needed was a computation device that could store simple ³programs² into it¹s memory for call later. The Electronic Discrete Variable Computer was the next in line. A young man named John von Neumann had the original plan for memory. His only problem was where and how could the instructions be stored for later use. Several ideas were pursued, but the one found most effective at the time was magnetic tape. Sets of instructions could be stored on the tapes and could be used to input the information instead of hand feeding the machine every time. If you have ever heard of a ³tape backup² for a computer, this is exactly what this is. All the information on your computer can be stored on the magnetic tape and could be recovered if your system ever crashed. It¹s strange that a method developed so long ago is still in use today, even though the computer today can do alot more than simply ³compute².
The computer works in a relatively simple way. It consists of five parts; input, output, memory, CPU, and arithmetic logic unit. Input is the device used by the operator of the computer to make it to what is requested. The output display the results of the tasks created from the input. The data goes from the input to the memory then to the arithmetic logic unit for processing then to the output. The data can then be stored in memory if the user desires. Before the advent of the monitor, the user would have to hand feed cards into the input and wouldn¹t see the results until it was displayed by the printer. Now that we have monitors, we can view the instant results of the tasks. The main component that allows the computer to do what is desired is the transistor. The transistor can either amplify or block electrical currents to produce either a 1 or a 0. Previously done by valves and vacuum tubes, the transistor allows for much faster processing of information. The microprocessor consists of a layered microchip which is on a base of silicone. It is a computer in itself and is the most integral part of the CPU in modern computers. It is a single chip which allows all that happens on a computer. Integrated circuits, a microchip which is layered with it¹s own circuitry, also provide a much more manageable memory source. The only reason magnetic tape backups are used today is because of the space which is needed in order to backup an entire computer. Memory for todays computers consist of RAM or ROM. ROM is unchangable and stores the computers most vital componants, it¹s operating instructions. Without this, the computer would be completly inoperable. Programs today use the instructions in the ROM to complete the tasks the program is attempting. This is why you cannot use IBM programs on a Macintosh, the ROM and operating systems are different, therefor the programing calls are different. Some powerful computers today can complete both sets of tasks because they have both sets of instructions in the stored in the ROM. The reason ROM is unchangable is because of people who don¹t know what they are doing could mess things up on their computer forever. RAM is the temporary memory that is in a computer. This is the memory that is used by programs to complete their tasks. RAM is only temporary because it requires a constant electrical charge. Once the computer is shut off, the RAM loses everything that was in it. That is why you lose work that you have done if the power goes of and you didn¹t save it first. If something needs to be saved, it is either saved to the hard disk within the computer or a floppy disk. With today¹s networking capabilities, things can be saved on completly seperate machines called ³servers². Though the process of saving is the same, a server can be located five feet away or on the opposite side of the world.
With today¹s technology, anything is possible with the use of a computer. You could visit a website and find that special someone, or create a virus that could crash thousands of machines at a single moment in time. If you have the money, the possibilities are endless. In today¹s day and age, information is sacred. One of the biggest problems found with information is what is free and what isn¹t. There will always be people who want more information than will be alloted to them, today, these people are known as hackers. Hackers use their individual knowledge to gain access to information that is not meant for them to know. It is almost a shame that hackers have such a bad reputation. Most are teenagers who are looking to gain more information. Of course, some are dedicated to destruction and random violence, but there always will be those types of people in the world. Of course, there is personal information that is transmitted over the Internet that no one but the inteded party and yourself should have access to (i.e. your credit card numbers and expration dates) but who decides what is and what isn¹t personal information. This is a problem that has greatly prevented the growth of the Internet into major companies. In the future, it can only get worse. At the rate we are going, everything will be computerized and stored electronicaly. This means that with the know-how, anyone could access your information. If you have ever seen the movie ³The Net² , you know exactly what I am talking about. If all information is stored electronicaly, anyone with the desire can view, change, remove, or add your personal attributes. With enough effort, one could take away someone¹s entire identity. This may seem like a futuristic sci-fi novel, but it could be in our not so distant future.
The future of technology can only be guessed upon. I believe that the connection between computers and humans will become much closer. People will feel the need to become ³one² with their machines and possibly even be physicaly linked with them. Information will be stored, transmitted, and viewed completly electronicaly. Perhaps an implant directly into the brain will be the link between humans and computers. This implant could feed you information directly off the Internet and several other sources. I personally believe that this is extremely scary. Once that link is made, there will be the desire to get even closer to the computer. A new, even more intimate link will be made. The cycle will continue untill there is no line between humans and elctronics. We will all be robots just reacting to instructions and following protocol. This is the most horrifing thing I can imagine. Our identities will be removed and we will all become one. I dont know, maybe I need to stop for a minuet before I completly terrify myslef.
The begginings of the computer are actually kind of strange. It started in the 1800¹s when a man named Charles Babbage wanted to make a calculating machine. He created a machine that would calculate logarithms on a system of constant difference and record the results on a metal plate. The machine was aptly named the Difference Engine. Within ten years, the Analytical Engine was produced. This machine could perform several tasks. These tasks would be givin to the machine and could figure out values of almost any algebraic equation. Soon, a silk weaver wanted to make very intricate designs. The designs were stored on punch-cards which could be fed into the loom in order to produce the designs requested. This is an odd beginning for the most powerful invention in the world.
In the 1930¹s, a man named Konrad Zuse started to make his own type of computer. Out of his works, he made several good advances in the world of computing. First, he developed the binary coding system. This was a base two system which allowed computers to read information with either a 1 or a 0. This is the same as an on or and off. The on or off functions could be created through switches. These switches were utilized with vacuum tubes. The functions could then be relayed as fast as electrons jumping between plates. This was all during the time of the Second World War and further advancements were made in the area of cryptology. Computer advancements were needed in order for the Allied Coding Center in London to decode encrypted Nazi messages. Speed was of the essence, so scientists developed the first fully valve driven computer. Before this, computers only had a number of valves, none were fully driven by them because of the complexity and difficulty of producing it. Despite the odds, several Cambridge professors accomplished the mammoth task. Once it was built, the computer could decode the encrypted messages in enough time to be of use, and was an important factor in the end of World War II.
The war also provided advancements in the United States as well. The trajectory of artillery shells was a complex process that took alot of time to compute on the field. A new, more powerful computer was in dire need. Working with the Moore School of Electrical Engineering, the Ballistics Research Laboratory created the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. The ENIAC could compute things a thousand times faster than any machine built before it. Even though it was not completed until 1946 and was not any help during the war, it provided another launching pad for scientists and inventors of the near future. The only problem with the ENIAC was that it was a long a tedious process to program it. What was needed was a computation device that could store simple ³programs² into it¹s memory for call later. The Electronic Discrete Variable Computer was the next in line. A young man named John von Neumann had the original plan for memory. His only problem was where and how could the instructions be stored for later use. Several ideas were pursued, but the one found most effective at the time was magnetic tape. Sets of instructions could be stored on the tapes and could be used to input the information instead of hand feeding the machine every time. If you have ever heard of a ³tape backup² for a computer, this is exactly what this is. All the information on your computer can be stored on the magnetic tape and could be recovered if your system ever crashed. It¹s strange that a method developed so long ago is still in use today, even though the computer today can do alot more than simply ³compute².
The computer works in a relatively simple way. It consists of five parts; input, output, memory, CPU, and arithmetic logic unit. Input is the device used by the operator of the computer to make it to what is requested. The output display the results of the tasks created from the input. The data goes from the input to the memory then to the arithmetic logic unit for processing then to the output. The data can then be stored in memory if the user desires. Before the advent of the monitor, the user would have to hand feed cards into the input and wouldn¹t see the results until it was displayed by the printer. Now that we have monitors, we can view the instant results of the tasks. The main component that allows the computer to do what is desired is the transistor. The transistor can either amplify or block electrical currents to produce either a 1 or a 0. Previously done by valves and vacuum tubes, the transistor allows for much faster processing of information. The microprocessor consists of a layered microchip which is on a base of silicone. It is a computer in itself and is the most integral part of the CPU in modern computers. It is a single chip which allows all that happens on a computer. Integrated circuits, a microchip which is layered with it¹s own circuitry, also provide a much more manageable memory source. The only reason magnetic tape backups are used today is because of the space which is needed in order to backup an entire computer. Memory for todays computers consist of RAM or ROM. ROM is unchangable and stores the computers most vital componants, it¹s operating instructions. Without this, the computer would be completly inoperable. Programs today use the instructions in the ROM to complete the tasks the program is attempting. This is why you cannot use IBM programs on a Macintosh, the ROM and operating systems are different, therefor the programing calls are different. Some powerful computers today can complete both sets of tasks because they have both sets of instructions in the stored in the ROM. The reason ROM is unchangable is because of people who don¹t know what they are doing could mess things up on their computer forever. RAM is the temporary memory that is in a computer. This is the memory that is used by programs to complete their tasks. RAM is only temporary because it requires a constant electrical charge. Once the computer is shut off, the RAM loses everything that was in it. That is why you lose work that you have done if the power goes of and you didn¹t save it first. If something needs to be saved, it is either saved to the hard disk within the computer or a floppy disk. With today¹s networking capabilities, things can be saved on completly seperate machines called ³servers². Though the process of saving is the same, a server can be located five feet away or on the opposite side of the world.
With today¹s technology, anything is possible with the use of a computer. You could visit a website and find that special someone, or create a virus that could crash thousands of machines at a single moment in time. If you have the money, the possibilities are endless. In today¹s day and age, information is sacred. One of the biggest problems found with information is what is free and what isn¹t. There will always be people who want more information than will be alloted to them, today, these people are known as hackers. Hackers use their individual knowledge to gain access to information that is not meant for them to know. It is almost a shame that hackers have such a bad reputation. Most are teenagers who are looking to gain more information. Of course, some are dedicated to destruction and random violence, but there always will be those types of people in the world. Of course, there is personal information that is transmitted over the Internet that no one but the inteded party and yourself should have access to (i.e. your credit card numbers and expration dates) but who decides what is and what isn¹t personal information. This is a problem that has greatly prevented the growth of the Internet into major companies. In the future, it can only get worse. At the rate we are going, everything will be computerized and stored electronicaly. This means that with the know-how, anyone could access your information. If you have ever seen the movie ³The Net² , you know exactly what I am talking about. If all information is stored electronicaly, anyone with the desire can view, change, remove, or add your personal attributes. With enough effort, one could take away someone¹s entire identity. This may seem like a futuristic sci-fi novel, but it could be in our not so distant future.
The future of technology can only be guessed upon. I believe that the connection between computers and humans will become much closer. People will feel the need to become ³one² with their machines and possibly even be physicaly linked with them. Information will be stored, transmitted, and viewed completly electronicaly. Perhaps an implant directly into the brain will be the link between humans and computers. This implant could feed you information directly off the Internet and several other sources. I personally believe that this is extremely scary. Once that link is made, there will be the desire to get even closer to the computer. A new, even more intimate link will be made. The cycle will continue untill there is no line between humans and elctronics. We will all be robots just reacting to instructions and following protocol. This is the most horrifing thing I can imagine. Our identities will be removed and we will all become one. I dont know, maybe I need to stop for a minuet before I completly terrify myslef.
Morality and Ethics and Computers
Morality and Ethics and Computers
There are many different sides to the discussion on moral and ethical uses of
computers. In many situations, the morality of a particular use of a computer is up to the
individual to decide. For this reason, absolute laws about ethical computer usage is
almost, but not entirely, impossible to define.
The introduction of computers into the workplace has introduced many questions
as well: Should employers make sure the workplace is designed to minimize health risks
such as back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome for people who work with computers?
Can employers prohibit employees from sending personal memos by electronic mail to a
friend at the other side of the office? Should employers monitor employees' work on
computers? If so, should employees be warned beforehand? If warned, does that make
the practice okay? According to Kenneth Goodman, director of the Forum for Bioethics
and Philosophy at the University of Miami, who teaches courses in computer ethics,
"There's hardly a business that's not using computers."1 This makes these questions all
the more important for today's society to answer.
There are also many moral and ethical problems dealing with the use of computers
in the medical field. In one particular case, a technician trusted what he thought a
computer was telling him, and administered a deadly dose of radiation to a hospital
patient.2 In cases like these, it is difficult to decide who's fault it is. It could have been the
computer programmer's fault, but Goodman asks, "How much responsibility can you place
on a machine?"3
Many problems also occur when computers are used in education. Should
computers replace actual teachers in the classroom? In some schools, computers and
computer manuals have already started to replace teachers. I would consider this an
unethical use of computers because computers do not have the ability to think and interact
on an interpersonal basis.
Computers "dehumanize human activity"4 by taking away many jobs and making
many others "boring exercises in pushing the buttons that make the technology work." 5
Complete privacy is almost impossible in this computer age. By using a credit card
or check cashing card, entering a raffle, or subscribing to a magazine, people provide
information about themselves that can be sold to marketers and distributed to data bases
throughout the world. When people use the world-wide web, the sites they visit and
download things from, make a record that can be traced back to the person.6 This is not
protected, as it is when books are checked out of a library. Therefore, information about
someone's personal preferences and interests can be sold to anyone. A health insurance
company could find out if a particular person had bought alcohol or cigarettes and charge
that person a higher rate because he or she is a greater health risk. Although something
like this has not been reported yet, there are no laws against it, at this point.
More and more data base companies are monitoring individuals with little
regulation. "Other forms of monitoring-such as genetic screening-could eventually be
used to discriminate against individuals not because of their past but because of statistical
expectations about their future."7 For instance, people who do not have AIDS but carry
the antibodies are being discharged from the U.S. military and also fired from some jobs.
Who knows if this kind of medical information could lead employers to make decisions of
employment based on possible future illnesses rather than on job qualifications. Is this an
ethical use of computers?
One aspect of computers that is surely immoral and unethical is computer crime,
which has been on the rise lately. There are many different types of computer crime.
Three main types of crimes are making computer viruses, making illegal copies of
software, and actually stealing computers.
Computer viruses have been around for a decade but they became infamous when
the Michelangelo virus caused a scare on March 6, 1992. According to the National
Computer Security Association in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, there are 6000 known viruses
worldwide and about 200 new ones show up every month.8 These viruses are spread
quickly and easily and can destroy all information on a computer's hard drive. Now,
people must buy additional software just to detect viruses and possibly repair infected
files.
Making illegal copies of software is also a growing problem in the computer
world. Most people find no problem in buying a computer program and giving a copy to
their friend or co-worker. Some people even make copies and sell them to others.
Software companies are starting to require computer users to type in a code before using
the software. They do this in many ways. Sometimes, they require you to use a "code
wheel" or look in a book for the code. The software companies go through this trouble to
discourage people from making illegal copies because every copy that is made is money
the company lost.
One other thing that is just starting to become a problem is actual computer theft.
With the introduction of notebook computers came a rise in computer theft. The same
qualities that make these computers perfect for business travelers-their small size and light
weight- make them very easy for thieves to steal as well. In 1994, 295,000 computers
were reported stolen with resulting losses totaling over 981 million dollars. 9 The amount
lost to theft is about twice the amount lost in all forms of computer malfunction or
breakage.
The biggest news related to computers lately seems to always be about the
Internet. The Internet began decades ago, but is just becoming popular with the general
public now that technology is advancing and becoming cheaper. There are many aspects
of the Internet that can lead people into discussions concerning morality and ethics.
Much of the discussion of the Internet has to do with freedom of speech and the
First Amendment. Most Americans probably believe that the First Amendment is moral
because it is a national law. The problems arise because different people interpret the First
Amendment in different ways. In most cases since 1776, the First Amendment has been
easily defined and understood, but every once in a while, a situation appears which blurs
the lines. The Internet has caused one of these situations.
There is information on the Internet about everything from drugs to making
bombs. The United States government is trying to decide whether they should or should
not censor material on the Internet. The government does not censor information like this
in public libraries, so why should it censor this information on the Internet? The
government censors information like this on television though, so why wouldn't it censor
this on the Internet? If the government goes strictly by the First Amendment, it would not
censor anything on the Internet because that would be a violation of free speech. It is
obvious though, that the government does not always go directly by the First Amendment,
so this leaves the topic open to discussion.
Some people argue that this information would be dangerous if it got into the
wrong hands. Much of the information in the world would be dangerous if it got into
the wrong hands. Does this mean that we should perform background checks and
psychiatric tests on everyone before we give them any information? I believe it is
unethical to withhold information from anyone. All information should be given out
freely. It is up to the individual to decide how to use the knowledge they have.
Many people complain that there is a large number of sick and demented people on
the Internet. There are a large number of sick and demented people in the "real" world
as well. In fact, the same people who are on the Internet are in the real world, too. There
is not much we can do about them except arrest the people who take their sickness and
dementia too far and break the law.
Computers can be harmful and beneficial to people in many different ways. The
ways computers are beneficial are the most obvious. Computers can entertain us, they can
save us time and energy, as well as saving us from performing boring and laborious tasks.
Computers also can be physically harmful to people. People who use computers
too much can suffer from vision loss, to varying degrees, due to staring at the screen for
extended lengths of time . They can also have problems with the muscles in their hands
from typing so often. They can acquire back problems from sitting in chairs behind desks
at computer screens, all day long.
Some people say that computers allow humans to cheat. They give us the
answers. They allow us to stop thinking. They believe it is unethical for the computers to
do the work for us. These people may be right in that some humans allow computers to
do work for them, but then if people did not make use of the new inventions and time-
savers, farmers would still be plowing with a horse and we'd still be cooking on an open
fire. Until computers exhibit actual artificial intelligence, though, we are still the ones
doing the thinking. We program the computers to do what we want them to do.
In conclusion, I believe that, in most situations involving computers, the morality
or immorality of an action is up to the individual to decide, as it would be if computers
were not involved. We have seen, though, that there are many instances in which people
have, without a doubt, acted immorally and unethically.
1 Timothy O'Conner, "Computers Creating Ethical Dilemmas," USA Today Magazine
(September 1995) 7
2 Max Frankel, "Cyberrights," The New York Times Magazine (February 12, 1995) 26
3 O'Conner 7
4 James Coates, "Unabomber Case Underscores an On-Line Evil," Chicago Tribune (April
14, 1996) 5
5 Coates 5
6 O'Conner 7
7 Tom Forester, Computers in the Human Context (Cambridge: The MIT Press,1989) 403
8 Stephen A. Booht, "Doom Virus," Popular Mechanics (June 1995) 51
9 Philip Albinus, "Have You Seen This PC?," Home Office Computing (February 1996) 17
There are many different sides to the discussion on moral and ethical uses of
computers. In many situations, the morality of a particular use of a computer is up to the
individual to decide. For this reason, absolute laws about ethical computer usage is
almost, but not entirely, impossible to define.
The introduction of computers into the workplace has introduced many questions
as well: Should employers make sure the workplace is designed to minimize health risks
such as back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome for people who work with computers?
Can employers prohibit employees from sending personal memos by electronic mail to a
friend at the other side of the office? Should employers monitor employees' work on
computers? If so, should employees be warned beforehand? If warned, does that make
the practice okay? According to Kenneth Goodman, director of the Forum for Bioethics
and Philosophy at the University of Miami, who teaches courses in computer ethics,
"There's hardly a business that's not using computers."1 This makes these questions all
the more important for today's society to answer.
There are also many moral and ethical problems dealing with the use of computers
in the medical field. In one particular case, a technician trusted what he thought a
computer was telling him, and administered a deadly dose of radiation to a hospital
patient.2 In cases like these, it is difficult to decide who's fault it is. It could have been the
computer programmer's fault, but Goodman asks, "How much responsibility can you place
on a machine?"3
Many problems also occur when computers are used in education. Should
computers replace actual teachers in the classroom? In some schools, computers and
computer manuals have already started to replace teachers. I would consider this an
unethical use of computers because computers do not have the ability to think and interact
on an interpersonal basis.
Computers "dehumanize human activity"4 by taking away many jobs and making
many others "boring exercises in pushing the buttons that make the technology work." 5
Complete privacy is almost impossible in this computer age. By using a credit card
or check cashing card, entering a raffle, or subscribing to a magazine, people provide
information about themselves that can be sold to marketers and distributed to data bases
throughout the world. When people use the world-wide web, the sites they visit and
download things from, make a record that can be traced back to the person.6 This is not
protected, as it is when books are checked out of a library. Therefore, information about
someone's personal preferences and interests can be sold to anyone. A health insurance
company could find out if a particular person had bought alcohol or cigarettes and charge
that person a higher rate because he or she is a greater health risk. Although something
like this has not been reported yet, there are no laws against it, at this point.
More and more data base companies are monitoring individuals with little
regulation. "Other forms of monitoring-such as genetic screening-could eventually be
used to discriminate against individuals not because of their past but because of statistical
expectations about their future."7 For instance, people who do not have AIDS but carry
the antibodies are being discharged from the U.S. military and also fired from some jobs.
Who knows if this kind of medical information could lead employers to make decisions of
employment based on possible future illnesses rather than on job qualifications. Is this an
ethical use of computers?
One aspect of computers that is surely immoral and unethical is computer crime,
which has been on the rise lately. There are many different types of computer crime.
Three main types of crimes are making computer viruses, making illegal copies of
software, and actually stealing computers.
Computer viruses have been around for a decade but they became infamous when
the Michelangelo virus caused a scare on March 6, 1992. According to the National
Computer Security Association in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, there are 6000 known viruses
worldwide and about 200 new ones show up every month.8 These viruses are spread
quickly and easily and can destroy all information on a computer's hard drive. Now,
people must buy additional software just to detect viruses and possibly repair infected
files.
Making illegal copies of software is also a growing problem in the computer
world. Most people find no problem in buying a computer program and giving a copy to
their friend or co-worker. Some people even make copies and sell them to others.
Software companies are starting to require computer users to type in a code before using
the software. They do this in many ways. Sometimes, they require you to use a "code
wheel" or look in a book for the code. The software companies go through this trouble to
discourage people from making illegal copies because every copy that is made is money
the company lost.
One other thing that is just starting to become a problem is actual computer theft.
With the introduction of notebook computers came a rise in computer theft. The same
qualities that make these computers perfect for business travelers-their small size and light
weight- make them very easy for thieves to steal as well. In 1994, 295,000 computers
were reported stolen with resulting losses totaling over 981 million dollars. 9 The amount
lost to theft is about twice the amount lost in all forms of computer malfunction or
breakage.
The biggest news related to computers lately seems to always be about the
Internet. The Internet began decades ago, but is just becoming popular with the general
public now that technology is advancing and becoming cheaper. There are many aspects
of the Internet that can lead people into discussions concerning morality and ethics.
Much of the discussion of the Internet has to do with freedom of speech and the
First Amendment. Most Americans probably believe that the First Amendment is moral
because it is a national law. The problems arise because different people interpret the First
Amendment in different ways. In most cases since 1776, the First Amendment has been
easily defined and understood, but every once in a while, a situation appears which blurs
the lines. The Internet has caused one of these situations.
There is information on the Internet about everything from drugs to making
bombs. The United States government is trying to decide whether they should or should
not censor material on the Internet. The government does not censor information like this
in public libraries, so why should it censor this information on the Internet? The
government censors information like this on television though, so why wouldn't it censor
this on the Internet? If the government goes strictly by the First Amendment, it would not
censor anything on the Internet because that would be a violation of free speech. It is
obvious though, that the government does not always go directly by the First Amendment,
so this leaves the topic open to discussion.
Some people argue that this information would be dangerous if it got into the
wrong hands. Much of the information in the world would be dangerous if it got into
the wrong hands. Does this mean that we should perform background checks and
psychiatric tests on everyone before we give them any information? I believe it is
unethical to withhold information from anyone. All information should be given out
freely. It is up to the individual to decide how to use the knowledge they have.
Many people complain that there is a large number of sick and demented people on
the Internet. There are a large number of sick and demented people in the "real" world
as well. In fact, the same people who are on the Internet are in the real world, too. There
is not much we can do about them except arrest the people who take their sickness and
dementia too far and break the law.
Computers can be harmful and beneficial to people in many different ways. The
ways computers are beneficial are the most obvious. Computers can entertain us, they can
save us time and energy, as well as saving us from performing boring and laborious tasks.
Computers also can be physically harmful to people. People who use computers
too much can suffer from vision loss, to varying degrees, due to staring at the screen for
extended lengths of time . They can also have problems with the muscles in their hands
from typing so often. They can acquire back problems from sitting in chairs behind desks
at computer screens, all day long.
Some people say that computers allow humans to cheat. They give us the
answers. They allow us to stop thinking. They believe it is unethical for the computers to
do the work for us. These people may be right in that some humans allow computers to
do work for them, but then if people did not make use of the new inventions and time-
savers, farmers would still be plowing with a horse and we'd still be cooking on an open
fire. Until computers exhibit actual artificial intelligence, though, we are still the ones
doing the thinking. We program the computers to do what we want them to do.
In conclusion, I believe that, in most situations involving computers, the morality
or immorality of an action is up to the individual to decide, as it would be if computers
were not involved. We have seen, though, that there are many instances in which people
have, without a doubt, acted immorally and unethically.
1 Timothy O'Conner, "Computers Creating Ethical Dilemmas," USA Today Magazine
(September 1995) 7
2 Max Frankel, "Cyberrights," The New York Times Magazine (February 12, 1995) 26
3 O'Conner 7
4 James Coates, "Unabomber Case Underscores an On-Line Evil," Chicago Tribune (April
14, 1996) 5
5 Coates 5
6 O'Conner 7
7 Tom Forester, Computers in the Human Context (Cambridge: The MIT Press,1989) 403
8 Stephen A. Booht, "Doom Virus," Popular Mechanics (June 1995) 51
9 Philip Albinus, "Have You Seen This PC?," Home Office Computing (February 1996) 17
Journalism on the Internet
Journalism on the Internet
The common forms of media in today's world each have both
advantages and disadvantages. The Internet has been around for an
almost equal amount of time as most of them, but only recently has
it become a popular way of retrieving information. The Internet
takes the best of all other medium and combines them into a very
unique form. The Internet is the best way to retrieve information.
This combination of paper publishing, TV, radio, telephones, and
mail is the future of communications. The internet has several
types of journalism which can be defined into three sections. One
section is online magazines, online broadcasting, and other online
services. The next group is resource files and web pages. The third
is discussion groups/forums and e-mail. I will investigate these
areas of the net, showing the advantages and disadvantages of each
in comparison to the conventional forms.
In order to understand what all these topics are you must
first understand what the internet is. The simple answer is that it
is computers all over the globe connected together by telephone
wires. It was first made by the military, "No one owns the
Internet", to have a network with no centre. That way it could
never be destroyed by nuclear war. Since then, universities have
used it and it has evolved into what it is today. It is a library
that contains mail, stories, news advertising, and just about
everything else. "In a sense, freenets are a literacy movement for
computer mediated communication today, as public libraries were to
reading for an earlier generation." Now that the term "the net" is
understood lets look at some sections of the net.
An online magazine is a computer that lets users access it
through the net. This computer stores one or more magazines which
users can read. "PC magazine and other magazines are available on
the Web" "Maclean's Magazine and Canadian Business online; and
Reuters' Canadian Newsclips." This form is much better that
conventional publishing, "we are using the online service to
enhance the print magazine", for several reasons. It is
environmentally safe, "Publish without Paper", most are free, "$50
a month on CompuServe", you can get any article from any year at
the touch of a button, and you can search for key words. "Search
engines make it easy pinpointing just the information you need".
The articles don't have space limits so you will get a specially
edited full story version (depending on the reporter) and other
articles that didn't make the print. It is easy to compare the
story with another journalists view, or get the story from a
journalist from another country. This way, the reader can make
informed decisions on anything, without bias. A few people complain
that there is too much information to receive, "mass jumble", but
there are filter programs that will cut the information to any set
amount. CNN online is a broadcast web page (another computer). CNN
not only has the articles to read but video, and sound clips too.
Anyone can get up to the minute news, and reports. "We will send a
reporter to the game, who will interview people like the coach and
uplink the story while the game is being played." This is an
excellent addition to TV. It is a mix of TV and publishing. TV has
a schedule to keep and might cut out parts simply for time but
there is no time limit online. Also, because it is interactive,
users will remember the information longer than if they watched TV.
An online service is a web page that sells something. It is easy to
order anything, from flowers to even airline tickets.
"...opportunity to buy tickets through TicketMaster." But even
this has problems, "the Internet is new and many possible types of
fraud must be dealt with," but the solution is software, "Secure
Courier...a secure means of transferring financial transactions".
This service is the home shopping, catalogue, and printed flier
replacement. Their advantage is that you can buy directly, or skip
them if you wish, unlike TV.
Web pages on the internet are computers that are dedicated to
letting people access them. Many companies have a web page that
offers help to customers, news, services, product updates, advice
from experts, even "information on elections, government programs,
and so forth." "These new, online services include daily industry
news, classified, a directory of suppliers, an interactive forum,
and tons of reference material, including government documents,
surveys, speeches, papers, and statistics." Even home businesses
can have a page and advertise their products or services. The only
other medium that comes close to what a web page can do is the help
telephone lines, but a web page is much more useful. Resource files
are like a library of information. By using a search program a user
can find files on any topic. They can get, digital books, reports,
pictures, statistics, university essays, sound files, video, and
even programs, "You can even download the federal budget
simulator". However, there is always going to be the possibility
of false information, but because it is so easy to speak your mind
on the net, this bad information is quickly found and deleted.
"Established sources such as universities, libraries, and
government agencies can be considered reasonably reliable....Then
comes the free-for-all." "You must be a critical viewer of both
the source and the content"
The final area is discussion groups or forums. There is a
forum for just about any topic. "The overall advantage is the
spread of ideas, information, and thoughts between people who would
not otherwise correspond. The Result is a free flow if ideas with
little moderation or control". A forum is a mail group that allow
people all over the world discuss a topic, trade information, etc.
"everything from uploaded works by Canadian artists to chats on
hockey and politics." Each forum has many users, each with their
own point of view. Anyone can talk, bias or not, loving or hating
the topic. "There are no rules about what can or can not go on the
Internet. Legal standards are almost impossible to establish and
even less likely to be enforced on a global link,". However, this
free flow of information can cause problems. These are evident in
adult forums and the EFF. The Electronic Freedom Foundation is a
group of people that want all information to be available to
anyone. This information can be anything such as; how to build a
car bombs, atomic bombs, working computer virus code, government
files, UFO info, hacking, cracking (copying software), and pheaking
(free telephone calls). This information is illegal in some
countries, and can be harmful or fatal if used. It is still
available because of the freedom of information act. The
information has always been available, but only lately has it
become this easy to get. Adult forums and web pages have created a
stir in the government. There are explicit pictures, novels,
catalog, stories, mail, and even child porn on the net. The
government has set out to stop the child porn but allowed the other
adult material to pass by. It would be improper for a young child
to access this information. To stop this, parents can install
programs to lock out these web pages, but a knowledgeable child can
still get access to them. The government is currently working on
this problem and setting up laws to protect the people who want to
be protected, while not infringing on the rights of the people who
want access to this information.
As you can see, the Internet has the potential to be the
worlds #1 medium. With the ever expanding Web and a growing number
of users, this is only a matter of time. Journalism on the Internet
is only one of many things that will be available through the net.
As these technologies advance, barriers will be broken, rules set,
and the world's knowledge will be a phone call and a mouse click
away.
Footnotes in Order
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 20
Trueman, "The 1995 Canadian Internet Awards", The Computer
Paper, September, (1995), p. 94
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Sorelle Saidman, "Online Canadian Content Expanding despite
Prodigy Setback", Toronto Computes, November, (1995), p. 9
Doug Bennet, "Confessions of an online publisher", Toronto
Computes, November (1995), p. 35
"The Internet Comes of Age" PC Magazine, May 30, (1995), P.
19
Casey Abell, "Letters", PC Magazine, May 30, (1995), P. 19
Rick Ayre and Don Willmott, "The Internet Means Business", Pc
Magazine, May 16, (1995), p. 197
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 20
Chris Carder, "Sports on the Internet a winner", Toronto
Computes, November, (1995), P. 98
Chris Carder, "Sports on the Internet a winner", Toronto
Computes, November, (1995), P. 98
Patrick McKenna, "Netscape's Digital Envelope For Internet
Transactions", The Computer Paper, September, (1995), p. 90
Patrick McKenna, "Netscape's Digital Envelope For Internet
Transactions", The Computer Paper, September, (1995), p. 90
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Doug Bennet, "Confessions of an online publisher", Toronto
Computes, November (1995), p. 37
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Sorelle Saidman, "Online Canadian Content Expanding despite
Prodigy Setback", Toronto Computes, November, (1995), p. 9
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 22
The common forms of media in today's world each have both
advantages and disadvantages. The Internet has been around for an
almost equal amount of time as most of them, but only recently has
it become a popular way of retrieving information. The Internet
takes the best of all other medium and combines them into a very
unique form. The Internet is the best way to retrieve information.
This combination of paper publishing, TV, radio, telephones, and
mail is the future of communications. The internet has several
types of journalism which can be defined into three sections. One
section is online magazines, online broadcasting, and other online
services. The next group is resource files and web pages. The third
is discussion groups/forums and e-mail. I will investigate these
areas of the net, showing the advantages and disadvantages of each
in comparison to the conventional forms.
In order to understand what all these topics are you must
first understand what the internet is. The simple answer is that it
is computers all over the globe connected together by telephone
wires. It was first made by the military, "No one owns the
Internet", to have a network with no centre. That way it could
never be destroyed by nuclear war. Since then, universities have
used it and it has evolved into what it is today. It is a library
that contains mail, stories, news advertising, and just about
everything else. "In a sense, freenets are a literacy movement for
computer mediated communication today, as public libraries were to
reading for an earlier generation." Now that the term "the net" is
understood lets look at some sections of the net.
An online magazine is a computer that lets users access it
through the net. This computer stores one or more magazines which
users can read. "PC magazine and other magazines are available on
the Web" "Maclean's Magazine and Canadian Business online; and
Reuters' Canadian Newsclips." This form is much better that
conventional publishing, "we are using the online service to
enhance the print magazine", for several reasons. It is
environmentally safe, "Publish without Paper", most are free, "$50
a month on CompuServe", you can get any article from any year at
the touch of a button, and you can search for key words. "Search
engines make it easy pinpointing just the information you need".
The articles don't have space limits so you will get a specially
edited full story version (depending on the reporter) and other
articles that didn't make the print. It is easy to compare the
story with another journalists view, or get the story from a
journalist from another country. This way, the reader can make
informed decisions on anything, without bias. A few people complain
that there is too much information to receive, "mass jumble", but
there are filter programs that will cut the information to any set
amount. CNN online is a broadcast web page (another computer). CNN
not only has the articles to read but video, and sound clips too.
Anyone can get up to the minute news, and reports. "We will send a
reporter to the game, who will interview people like the coach and
uplink the story while the game is being played." This is an
excellent addition to TV. It is a mix of TV and publishing. TV has
a schedule to keep and might cut out parts simply for time but
there is no time limit online. Also, because it is interactive,
users will remember the information longer than if they watched TV.
An online service is a web page that sells something. It is easy to
order anything, from flowers to even airline tickets.
"...opportunity to buy tickets through TicketMaster." But even
this has problems, "the Internet is new and many possible types of
fraud must be dealt with," but the solution is software, "Secure
Courier...a secure means of transferring financial transactions".
This service is the home shopping, catalogue, and printed flier
replacement. Their advantage is that you can buy directly, or skip
them if you wish, unlike TV.
Web pages on the internet are computers that are dedicated to
letting people access them. Many companies have a web page that
offers help to customers, news, services, product updates, advice
from experts, even "information on elections, government programs,
and so forth." "These new, online services include daily industry
news, classified, a directory of suppliers, an interactive forum,
and tons of reference material, including government documents,
surveys, speeches, papers, and statistics." Even home businesses
can have a page and advertise their products or services. The only
other medium that comes close to what a web page can do is the help
telephone lines, but a web page is much more useful. Resource files
are like a library of information. By using a search program a user
can find files on any topic. They can get, digital books, reports,
pictures, statistics, university essays, sound files, video, and
even programs, "You can even download the federal budget
simulator". However, there is always going to be the possibility
of false information, but because it is so easy to speak your mind
on the net, this bad information is quickly found and deleted.
"Established sources such as universities, libraries, and
government agencies can be considered reasonably reliable....Then
comes the free-for-all." "You must be a critical viewer of both
the source and the content"
The final area is discussion groups or forums. There is a
forum for just about any topic. "The overall advantage is the
spread of ideas, information, and thoughts between people who would
not otherwise correspond. The Result is a free flow if ideas with
little moderation or control". A forum is a mail group that allow
people all over the world discuss a topic, trade information, etc.
"everything from uploaded works by Canadian artists to chats on
hockey and politics." Each forum has many users, each with their
own point of view. Anyone can talk, bias or not, loving or hating
the topic. "There are no rules about what can or can not go on the
Internet. Legal standards are almost impossible to establish and
even less likely to be enforced on a global link,". However, this
free flow of information can cause problems. These are evident in
adult forums and the EFF. The Electronic Freedom Foundation is a
group of people that want all information to be available to
anyone. This information can be anything such as; how to build a
car bombs, atomic bombs, working computer virus code, government
files, UFO info, hacking, cracking (copying software), and pheaking
(free telephone calls). This information is illegal in some
countries, and can be harmful or fatal if used. It is still
available because of the freedom of information act. The
information has always been available, but only lately has it
become this easy to get. Adult forums and web pages have created a
stir in the government. There are explicit pictures, novels,
catalog, stories, mail, and even child porn on the net. The
government has set out to stop the child porn but allowed the other
adult material to pass by. It would be improper for a young child
to access this information. To stop this, parents can install
programs to lock out these web pages, but a knowledgeable child can
still get access to them. The government is currently working on
this problem and setting up laws to protect the people who want to
be protected, while not infringing on the rights of the people who
want access to this information.
As you can see, the Internet has the potential to be the
worlds #1 medium. With the ever expanding Web and a growing number
of users, this is only a matter of time. Journalism on the Internet
is only one of many things that will be available through the net.
As these technologies advance, barriers will be broken, rules set,
and the world's knowledge will be a phone call and a mouse click
away.
Footnotes in Order
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 20
Trueman, "The 1995 Canadian Internet Awards", The Computer
Paper, September, (1995), p. 94
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Sorelle Saidman, "Online Canadian Content Expanding despite
Prodigy Setback", Toronto Computes, November, (1995), p. 9
Doug Bennet, "Confessions of an online publisher", Toronto
Computes, November (1995), p. 35
"The Internet Comes of Age" PC Magazine, May 30, (1995), P.
19
Casey Abell, "Letters", PC Magazine, May 30, (1995), P. 19
Rick Ayre and Don Willmott, "The Internet Means Business", Pc
Magazine, May 16, (1995), p. 197
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 20
Chris Carder, "Sports on the Internet a winner", Toronto
Computes, November, (1995), P. 98
Chris Carder, "Sports on the Internet a winner", Toronto
Computes, November, (1995), P. 98
Patrick McKenna, "Netscape's Digital Envelope For Internet
Transactions", The Computer Paper, September, (1995), p. 90
Patrick McKenna, "Netscape's Digital Envelope For Internet
Transactions", The Computer Paper, September, (1995), p. 90
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Doug Bennet, "Confessions of an online publisher", Toronto
Computes, November (1995), p. 37
Michael J. Miller, "Where Do I Want to Go Today", PC
Magazine, March 28, (1995), P. 75
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 21
Sorelle Saidman, "Online Canadian Content Expanding despite
Prodigy Setback", Toronto Computes, November, (1995), p. 9
Bill Kempthorne, "Internet, So What?", The Computer Paper,
September, (1995), p. 22
Is your information safe
Is Your Information Safe?
He doesn't wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesn't break a window to get into your house. He doesn't hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same he's a thief. Although this thief is one you'll not only never see, but you may not even realize right away that he's robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal information -- such as credit card numbers -- which he could then use without your knowledge -- at least until you get that next credit card statement. Richard Bernes, supervisor of the FBI's Hi-Tech squad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl" (Erickson 1). There seems to be an unlimited potential for theft of credit card numbers, bank statements and other financial and personal information transmitted over the Internet.
It's hard to imagine that anyone in today's technologically oriented world could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked
together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to attack (Icove-Seger-VonStorch
1). Yesterday's bank robbers have become today's computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1).
Home computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and data, which are subject to attack. Even if this information is not confidential, having to reconstruct what has been destroyed by a hacker can take days (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). William Cheswick, a network-security specialist at AT&T Bell Labs, says the home computers that use the Internet are singularly vulnerable to attack. "The Internet is like a vault with a screen door on the back," says Cheswick. "I don't need jackhammers and atom
bombs to get in when I can walk in through the door" (Quittner 44).
The use of the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to communicate. It's easy, fun, and you don't have to leave your home to do it. For example, the advantage of not having to take the time to drive to the bank is so great that they never consider the fact that the information they store or transmit might not be safe. Many computer security professionals continue to speak out on how the lack of Internet security will result in a significant increase in computer fraud, and easier access to information previously considered private and confidential (Regan 26).
Gregory Regan, writing for Credit World, says that only certain types of tasks and features can be performed securely. Electronic banking is not one of them. "I would not recommend performing commercial business transactions," he advises "or sending confidential information across networks attached to the Internet" (26).
In the business world, computer security can be just as easily compromised. More than a third of major U.S. corporations reported doing business over the Internet -- up from 26 percent a year ago -- but a quarter of them say
they've suffered attempted break-ins and losses, either in stolen data or cash (Denning 08A).
Dr. Gregory E. Shannon, president of InfoStructure Services and Technologies Inc., says the need to improve computer security is essential. There are newly released computer tools intended to help keep the security of your PC information, but which can just as easily be accessed by computer hackers, as this information will be released as freeware (available, and free, to anyone) on the Internet (Cambridge 1). These freely distributed tools could make it far easier for hackers to break into systems. Presently, if a hacker is trying to break into a system, he has to keep probing a network for weaknesses. Before long, hackers will be able to point one of these freeware tools at a network and let it automatically probe for security holes, without any interaction from themselves (Cambridge 1). Hackers, it seems, have no trouble staying ahead of the computer security experts.
Online service providers, such as America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy, are effective in providing additional protection for computer information. First of all, you need to use a "secret password" -- a customer ID that is typed in when you log on to the network. Then you can only send information, and retrieve your own e-mail,
through your own user access. Sometimes the service itself is even locked out of certain information. CompuServe, for example, with its 800-plus private bulletin boards, can't even read what's on them without gaining prior permission from the company paying for the service (Flanagan 34).
Perhaps in an attempt to show how secure they are, these information services will give out very little information about security itself. They all take measures to protect private information, and give frequent warnings to
new users about the danger in giving out a password, but there is also danger in making the service easy to use for the general public -- anything that is made easy enough for the novice computer user would not present much of a challenge for a computer hacker. Still, there is a certain amount of protection in using a service provider -- doing so is roughly euqivalent to locking what might be an open door (Flanagan 34).
The latest weak spot that has been discovered is a flaw in the World Wide Web. The Web is the fastest-growing zone within the Internet, the area where most home computer users travel, as it's attractive and easy to use. According to an advisory issued on the Internet by a programmer in Germany, there is a "hole" in the software that runs most Web sites (Quittner 44). This entry point will provide an an intruder
with access to any and all information, allowing him to do anything the owners of the site can do. Network-security
specialist Cheswick points out that most of the Web sites use software that puts them at risk. With more and more home computer uses setting up their own home pages and Web sites, this is just one more way a hacker can gain access to personal information (Quittner 44).
Credit bureaus are aware of how financial information can be used or changed by computer hackers, which has a serious impact on their customers. Loans can be made with
false information (obtained by the hackers from an unsuspecting computer user's data base); and information can be changed for purposes of deceit, harassment or even blackmail. These occur daily in the financial services industry, and the use of Internet has only complicated how an organization or private individual keeps information private, confidential and, most importantly, correct (Regan 26).
Still, there are some measures that can be taken to help protect your information. If you use a virus protection program before downloading any files from the Internet, there is less of a chance a hacker can crack your system. Login passwords should be changed frequently (write
it down so you don't forget, but store it in a secure place), and they should never contain words or names that are easily guessed. It may be easier for you to remember your password if you use your son's name, but it's also easier for the hacker to detect it. Passwords should always be strictly private -- never tell anyone else what it is (Regan 26).
Evaluate products for their security features before you buy any tool to access the Internet or service providers. Remember, to change the default system password
-- the one you are initially given to set up the network on your computer (Regan 26).
Finally, and most importantly, it's best to realize that a computer system, regardless of the amount of precaution and protection you take, is never completely protected from outsiders. As protection software becomes more sophisticated, so do the hackers who want to break into your system. It's a good idea not to leave the silver on the dining table when you don't know for sure that a thief can't crawl through your window.
Works Cited
Cambridge Publishing Inc. "PC Security: Internet Security Tool to Deter Hackers." Cambridge Work-Group, (1995): Jan, pp 1.
Denning, Dorothy E. "Privacy takes another hit from new computer rules" USA Today, (1996): Dec 12, pp 08A.
Erickson, Jim. "Crime on the Internet A Growing Concern." Seattle Post Intelligencer, (1995): Nov 15, http://technoculture.mira.net.au/hypermail/0032.html
Flanagan, Patrick. "Demystifying the information highway." Management Review, (1994): May 1, pp 34.
Icove, David; Seger, Karl; VonStorch, William. "Fighting Computer Crime." http://www.pilgrim.umass.edu/pub/security/crime1.html
Quittner, Joshua. "Technology Cracks in the Net." Time, (1995): Feb 27, pp 44.
Regan, Gregory. "Securely accessing the Internet & the World Wide Web: Good or evil?", Credit World, v. 85, (1996): Oct 1, pp 26.
He doesn't wear a stocking mask over his face, and he doesn't break a window to get into your house. He doesn't hold a gun to your head, nor does he ransack your personal possessions. Just the same he's a thief. Although this thief is one you'll not only never see, but you may not even realize right away that he's robbed you. The thief is a computer hacker and he "enters" your home via your computer, accessing personal information -- such as credit card numbers -- which he could then use without your knowledge -- at least until you get that next credit card statement. Richard Bernes, supervisor of the FBI's Hi-Tech squad in San Jose, California, calls the Internet "the unlocked window in cyberspace through which thieves crawl" (Erickson 1). There seems to be an unlimited potential for theft of credit card numbers, bank statements and other financial and personal information transmitted over the Internet.
It's hard to imagine that anyone in today's technologically oriented world could function without computers. Personal computers are linked to business computers and financial networks, and all are linked
together via the Internet or other networks. More than a hundred million electronic messages travel through cyberspace every day, and every piece of information stored in a computer is vulnerable to attack (Icove-Seger-VonStorch
1). Yesterday's bank robbers have become today's computer hackers. They can walk away from a computer crime with millions of virtual dollars (in the form of information they can use or sell for an enormous profit). Walking away is precisely what they do. The National Computer Crimes Squad estimates that 85-97 % of the time, theft of information from computers is not even detected (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1).
Home computer users are vulnerable, not only for credit card information and login IDs, but also their files, disks, and other computer equipment and data, which are subject to attack. Even if this information is not confidential, having to reconstruct what has been destroyed by a hacker can take days (Icove-Seger-VonStorch 1). William Cheswick, a network-security specialist at AT&T Bell Labs, says the home computers that use the Internet are singularly vulnerable to attack. "The Internet is like a vault with a screen door on the back," says Cheswick. "I don't need jackhammers and atom
bombs to get in when I can walk in through the door" (Quittner 44).
The use of the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to communicate. It's easy, fun, and you don't have to leave your home to do it. For example, the advantage of not having to take the time to drive to the bank is so great that they never consider the fact that the information they store or transmit might not be safe. Many computer security professionals continue to speak out on how the lack of Internet security will result in a significant increase in computer fraud, and easier access to information previously considered private and confidential (Regan 26).
Gregory Regan, writing for Credit World, says that only certain types of tasks and features can be performed securely. Electronic banking is not one of them. "I would not recommend performing commercial business transactions," he advises "or sending confidential information across networks attached to the Internet" (26).
In the business world, computer security can be just as easily compromised. More than a third of major U.S. corporations reported doing business over the Internet -- up from 26 percent a year ago -- but a quarter of them say
they've suffered attempted break-ins and losses, either in stolen data or cash (Denning 08A).
Dr. Gregory E. Shannon, president of InfoStructure Services and Technologies Inc., says the need to improve computer security is essential. There are newly released computer tools intended to help keep the security of your PC information, but which can just as easily be accessed by computer hackers, as this information will be released as freeware (available, and free, to anyone) on the Internet (Cambridge 1). These freely distributed tools could make it far easier for hackers to break into systems. Presently, if a hacker is trying to break into a system, he has to keep probing a network for weaknesses. Before long, hackers will be able to point one of these freeware tools at a network and let it automatically probe for security holes, without any interaction from themselves (Cambridge 1). Hackers, it seems, have no trouble staying ahead of the computer security experts.
Online service providers, such as America Online, CompuServe and Prodigy, are effective in providing additional protection for computer information. First of all, you need to use a "secret password" -- a customer ID that is typed in when you log on to the network. Then you can only send information, and retrieve your own e-mail,
through your own user access. Sometimes the service itself is even locked out of certain information. CompuServe, for example, with its 800-plus private bulletin boards, can't even read what's on them without gaining prior permission from the company paying for the service (Flanagan 34).
Perhaps in an attempt to show how secure they are, these information services will give out very little information about security itself. They all take measures to protect private information, and give frequent warnings to
new users about the danger in giving out a password, but there is also danger in making the service easy to use for the general public -- anything that is made easy enough for the novice computer user would not present much of a challenge for a computer hacker. Still, there is a certain amount of protection in using a service provider -- doing so is roughly euqivalent to locking what might be an open door (Flanagan 34).
The latest weak spot that has been discovered is a flaw in the World Wide Web. The Web is the fastest-growing zone within the Internet, the area where most home computer users travel, as it's attractive and easy to use. According to an advisory issued on the Internet by a programmer in Germany, there is a "hole" in the software that runs most Web sites (Quittner 44). This entry point will provide an an intruder
with access to any and all information, allowing him to do anything the owners of the site can do. Network-security
specialist Cheswick points out that most of the Web sites use software that puts them at risk. With more and more home computer uses setting up their own home pages and Web sites, this is just one more way a hacker can gain access to personal information (Quittner 44).
Credit bureaus are aware of how financial information can be used or changed by computer hackers, which has a serious impact on their customers. Loans can be made with
false information (obtained by the hackers from an unsuspecting computer user's data base); and information can be changed for purposes of deceit, harassment or even blackmail. These occur daily in the financial services industry, and the use of Internet has only complicated how an organization or private individual keeps information private, confidential and, most importantly, correct (Regan 26).
Still, there are some measures that can be taken to help protect your information. If you use a virus protection program before downloading any files from the Internet, there is less of a chance a hacker can crack your system. Login passwords should be changed frequently (write
it down so you don't forget, but store it in a secure place), and they should never contain words or names that are easily guessed. It may be easier for you to remember your password if you use your son's name, but it's also easier for the hacker to detect it. Passwords should always be strictly private -- never tell anyone else what it is (Regan 26).
Evaluate products for their security features before you buy any tool to access the Internet or service providers. Remember, to change the default system password
-- the one you are initially given to set up the network on your computer (Regan 26).
Finally, and most importantly, it's best to realize that a computer system, regardless of the amount of precaution and protection you take, is never completely protected from outsiders. As protection software becomes more sophisticated, so do the hackers who want to break into your system. It's a good idea not to leave the silver on the dining table when you don't know for sure that a thief can't crawl through your window.
Works Cited
Cambridge Publishing Inc. "PC Security: Internet Security Tool to Deter Hackers." Cambridge Work-Group, (1995): Jan, pp 1.
Denning, Dorothy E. "Privacy takes another hit from new computer rules" USA Today, (1996): Dec 12, pp 08A.
Erickson, Jim. "Crime on the Internet A Growing Concern." Seattle Post Intelligencer, (1995): Nov 15, http://technoculture.mira.net.au/hypermail/0032.html
Flanagan, Patrick. "Demystifying the information highway." Management Review, (1994): May 1, pp 34.
Icove, David; Seger, Karl; VonStorch, William. "Fighting Computer Crime." http://www.pilgrim.umass.edu/pub/security/crime1.html
Quittner, Joshua. "Technology Cracks in the Net." Time, (1995): Feb 27, pp 44.
Regan, Gregory. "Securely accessing the Internet & the World Wide Web: Good or evil?", Credit World, v. 85, (1996): Oct 1, pp 26.
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