People are concerned with the Diebold voting machines because they are extremely easy to break into and alter/replace the memory cards that are used to count votes. The process of hacking the machines can be untraceable, which can lead to huge problems in accurate voting even if it wasn't intended. Additionally, the Diebold corporation is known for being extremely Republican, which makes people speculate whether or not they are in favor of tampering with the machines to get more votes for the Republican party.
If I were in charge of counting votes in California, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. I think that the whole issue with voting and tampering with votes could be fixed by going back to the basic deal of counting votes by hands. But since this is the 21st century and the world cant go on without computers, I would probably start off with better voting ballots- simple, easy and succinct ones that wouldn't confuse old people, or people who can't take the time to read instructions on things. I wouldn't use touch screen voting because I think thats shady, and even in the event that no one wanted to mess around with vote counts, it still seems unreliable. I would pick a company that had the least political affiliation with one side as possible for the company that would count the votes, because I think that politics can get far too scary for people to be honest with. I would have people monitor the actual voting places, since my experience with voting places is that its just a bunch of people with some political affiliation monitoring the polls, which doesn't seem fair. Basically, if there's going to be change in the world of electronic voting, I think that the people regulating the voting shouldn't be allowed to be too connected with any one political side.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
digital divide
I think that with education, its hard to integrate technology without having differences between social and economic class. Some people may not have access to computers, some may have limited access, and some may have unlimited access. I think its a lot easier and convenient to have technology within the world of education, but its impossible for everyone to be expected to use computers and other technology to help with education.
With the government, I think that there are a lot of things out there that make it easy for us to be able to access information online with little to no effort. For those who don't have a computer, the internet, or don't know how to use the internet it can be a whole other story. Government run websites have a lot of useful information on them (state laws, tax information, etc.), but I honestly wouldn't know how to access that information if I didn't have a computer in front of me.
Health information and services provided through the internet is a great way to keep people informed. On the other hand, I think that it is a huge disadvantage to those who don't have access to computers when it comes to health information. When I think of the internet and health info, webMD comes to mind. On that website, you can pretty much look up information for any and all ailments one might have. Granted, the internet isn't an excuse for going to the doctors, but I think that theres a huge advantage in looking up your symptoms before you go running to the doctor.
Watching past episodes of LOST and Grey's Anatomy on abc.com is something that I definitely take for granted. This is just one of many things that the digital divide keeps from people. Though the internet is definitely a huge source of information, I think its just as much for entertainment as it is for information. Watching videos is one thing, but with a lot of the websites I frequent, there is no real-life alternative, at least that I know of. For example, I really like to look at NatalieDee comics, which I probably wouldn't be able to find outside of the internet (not to mention she probably wouldn't be heard of if it wasn't for the internet).
With many jobs today, its possible for people to work from home when they normally wouldn't be able to thanks to the internet. I think this is a huge disadvantage to people who don't have computer access because it takes a lot of job opportunity away from them. Though I don't have any personal experience, i think it would be pretty convenient to be able to work remotely from wherever you feel like. I know someone who is currently traveling the world who works part-time as a journalist, based out of Paris. He reviews shows from a special website that his company provides and writes articles about them, and then emails them to his work. Without the internet, he'd be broke and jobless traveling the world, but with the wonderful world of the internet, he can jump around the globe while still holding the same job.
With the government, I think that there are a lot of things out there that make it easy for us to be able to access information online with little to no effort. For those who don't have a computer, the internet, or don't know how to use the internet it can be a whole other story. Government run websites have a lot of useful information on them (state laws, tax information, etc.), but I honestly wouldn't know how to access that information if I didn't have a computer in front of me.
Health information and services provided through the internet is a great way to keep people informed. On the other hand, I think that it is a huge disadvantage to those who don't have access to computers when it comes to health information. When I think of the internet and health info, webMD comes to mind. On that website, you can pretty much look up information for any and all ailments one might have. Granted, the internet isn't an excuse for going to the doctors, but I think that theres a huge advantage in looking up your symptoms before you go running to the doctor.
Watching past episodes of LOST and Grey's Anatomy on abc.com is something that I definitely take for granted. This is just one of many things that the digital divide keeps from people. Though the internet is definitely a huge source of information, I think its just as much for entertainment as it is for information. Watching videos is one thing, but with a lot of the websites I frequent, there is no real-life alternative, at least that I know of. For example, I really like to look at NatalieDee comics, which I probably wouldn't be able to find outside of the internet (not to mention she probably wouldn't be heard of if it wasn't for the internet).
With many jobs today, its possible for people to work from home when they normally wouldn't be able to thanks to the internet. I think this is a huge disadvantage to people who don't have computer access because it takes a lot of job opportunity away from them. Though I don't have any personal experience, i think it would be pretty convenient to be able to work remotely from wherever you feel like. I know someone who is currently traveling the world who works part-time as a journalist, based out of Paris. He reviews shows from a special website that his company provides and writes articles about them, and then emails them to his work. Without the internet, he'd be broke and jobless traveling the world, but with the wonderful world of the internet, he can jump around the globe while still holding the same job.
Web 2.0 Lab
How To Do Things
This website is a mashup of Google Personalized Search and Netvibes. It uses guides, tutorials and widgets to help you learn how to do a variety of things from making paninis to fixing tire leaks. I think that this website is pretty useful since it has a variety of things you can learn how to do. It also has a lot of things on it that I don't know how to do, such as making Ukrainian Easter eggs, but it has a few things I do know how to do, such as using a curling iron. I think its useful since there are a lot of random things on the website that typically aren't on websites, and they are helpful to the kind of person who needs random questions answered that they wouldn't necessarily be able to be answered anywhere else. Although this is the first mashup site I went to, I think it might be my favorite one.
Pixoble
Pixoble is a mashup of Flickr, Yahoo Images, Yahoo Videos, You Tube, VEOH, and Live Video, which makes it so you can search for images and videos at the same time. I think that this mashup is pretty cool because its like a mega search for media from all around. Basically, you cover all your bases at the click of your mouse, which for the lazy teenager is pretty awesome.
Mayer's Office of Theater, Film and Broadcasting
This mashup shows the locations of every movie ever set in New York City. It uees Yahoo Maps. I think that this mashup is pretty cool for a couple of reasons. First off, its a new way to use a map and integrate film into it. It shows a picture of the scene where the film was shot, for example in Central Park. I think that this is really interactive and good for knowing random movie facts. It also would be cool to look up your favorite movies and be able to go to their filming locations.
I like mashups because they make the most of the internet's abilities to give us information. they also have a funny name... its like mashed potatoes and ketchup... mash...up.
This website is a mashup of Google Personalized Search and Netvibes. It uses guides, tutorials and widgets to help you learn how to do a variety of things from making paninis to fixing tire leaks. I think that this website is pretty useful since it has a variety of things you can learn how to do. It also has a lot of things on it that I don't know how to do, such as making Ukrainian Easter eggs, but it has a few things I do know how to do, such as using a curling iron. I think its useful since there are a lot of random things on the website that typically aren't on websites, and they are helpful to the kind of person who needs random questions answered that they wouldn't necessarily be able to be answered anywhere else. Although this is the first mashup site I went to, I think it might be my favorite one.
Pixoble
Pixoble is a mashup of Flickr, Yahoo Images, Yahoo Videos, You Tube, VEOH, and Live Video, which makes it so you can search for images and videos at the same time. I think that this mashup is pretty cool because its like a mega search for media from all around. Basically, you cover all your bases at the click of your mouse, which for the lazy teenager is pretty awesome.
Mayer's Office of Theater, Film and Broadcasting
This mashup shows the locations of every movie ever set in New York City. It uees Yahoo Maps. I think that this mashup is pretty cool for a couple of reasons. First off, its a new way to use a map and integrate film into it. It shows a picture of the scene where the film was shot, for example in Central Park. I think that this is really interactive and good for knowing random movie facts. It also would be cool to look up your favorite movies and be able to go to their filming locations.
I like mashups because they make the most of the internet's abilities to give us information. they also have a funny name... its like mashed potatoes and ketchup... mash...up.
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