Chapter4: Vendors Are Keeping Too Many Rights

I thought that this cross current was interesting about how large corporations try to stay dominant by keeping other competitors out and having the user buy only their software. I can reflect back to this issue as Microsoft Word and Works fail to save documents with a format that both can read besides rtf format. Saving in Rich Text Format will usually lose some important data/features required for the document. Most computers around campus are installed with Microsoft Word and will only read files that are compatible with it. This is a major problem for freshmen who only have works around exam time because they don't know how to print their papers! On the other side, for programming launguages like java or html, it is universal and can be read through any program that understands the tag that the file is being saved as. This cross current also talks about how you have restrictions on the what you buy. For example it is illegal to make copies of software that you've purchased for back up, but we should retain the right to have a back up copy of it! Also this cross current talks about open-source software and proprietary software. Open source software is freeing your choices and options while properietary software limits you.

1)Microsoft operating systems and office applications dominate the PC software market. what are some advantages and some disadvantages associated with most everyone running the same operating system and applications programs?

The advantages of everyone running the same software programs that everyone else is running is the compatability you have transfering your files onto another computer. It makes it so much easier because you don't have to worry about data being lost whenever you format it to a correct format that another program can read. Also the ability to get technical support from your friends and people who use the program. Also if everyone is using it, it must be a very computer friendly program and easy to use. The disavantage of this would be the compeitition! Letting someone have a monopoly over something is not good because they can controll how much you pay and how often you have to buy it again. It's kind of like saying you have the only marker in the world and it's worth a million bucks but it cost 5 cents to produce. It cost so much because you have the ability to price it at whatever price, because it's the only one and people need it to write on boards. It goes the same way with programs/software. We need programs to run our computers but they can price it as high as they want because they are the only ones who have it.

2)If you were running a large IT operation, which would be more important to you: getting a large discount on the price of the software you were licensing, or having the flexibility to manipulate the same data files with a differnt vendor's software?

I personally would think that having software that has flexibility to manipulate the same data files with differnt vendor's software is more important than buying a cheaper license. Why? because the world is all about communication and if you can't communicate with other(s) well then you might be discontinued from others. Having a cheaper license program is only a good temporary fix, but if you can get a flexible software that manipulates the same data files with differnt vendor's software will save you more money in the long run.

Chapter 3: The Diskless PC Revolution

Chapter 3: The Diskless PC Revolution

This Cross Currents article is talking about using flash drives for all of your storage in the neat future. Flash drives usually carry all of our personal information, such as software, documents, pictures, and college work. This article also talks about how we could just walk into cafe's and plug our flash drives into a USB port loaded with our information on it. It also talks about how dealing away with hard drives on laptops to help with the power usage and weight issue on laptops. It also talks about how your PC's would not crash because of browser cache. Also you would always have all your information with you because it's in your pocket. You would have to deal with less stress when your laptop is stolen because you have all your information in your pocket.

1)It's already possible to purchase low-cost flash memory devices capable of storing gigabytes of data. what are the pros and cons of carrying personal data on a flash memory device and using a public computer lab at your school, versus carrying personal data on a laptop PC?

The pro's to carrying your very own flash drive memory stick would be that you have your information everywhere you go. And if you needed to pull up some information that you have on your drive, then you could do it by a near by computer. Another pro for having a disk drive is that you can transfer files more easily than burning them onto a cd or uploading them online and having to find it again online. The cons of having a flash drive would be if you lost it. There are a lot of information on that flash drive and if you lost it, it would be really depressing. I once lost my flash drive and it had all my java programming homework on it. That was one of the most scariest moments of my college time because I needed to submit those homework to maintain a good grade. The only problem with carrying personal data on a laptop would be the weight. If you have a laptop, then you really could pull up your information anytime you wanted too with no wait for an open computer to come up. I would consider it more safe too because you would have to enter a password into your laptop to access any of the files.

2)Would your personal data be more secure or less secure if you kept it with you on a flash memory device, rather than on a network-connected file server?

Your data would be more secure if you kept it with you because if a network connected file server went down, you would have no access to your files. Also if there are no encryptions on your files on the network then people can freely view your files with out your permission. I think it would be safer for your data to be kept with you in a flash drive device.

Computer Knowledge/Computer exp.

1) The last computer course that I have taken is CSC120 and CSC 134. The courses were also a semester long. The concepts learned in CSC134 is learning how to program Java using Text Pad. The concepts learned in CSC120 were algorithms and computer terms.
2)I have a good amount of knowledge in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access. I completed Computer Apps I and II in high school which dealt with all of those programs. The least comfortable program I would say to me is Access because I don't remember it so well.
3)I have access to these programs at home on my laptop.