Technology is not Perfect Yet

This last Friday there was a ‘Hope for Haiti’ telethon given on Friday to raise money for Haitian victims. However, there seemed to be some technical failures. Many people were not able to donate, by phone or the Internet. It seems that in our day technology has advanced so far that anything seems imaginable. We can have a video conference with anyone on the planet at any given time. But technology still is not perfect, and never will be. There are so many nuances, which means that there are more places to make mistakes. This is similar to what makes software engineering so hard. There are so many pieces that make up a telephone network that some might think that it’s a miracle that it works at all. But with complicated systems come problems as well. In the near future, even as technology improves, there will always be some problems. There is no way to guarantee that our complicated systems will work 100% of the time, despite our best efforts.

Women in Computing

Women should have just as many opportunities as men to study Computer Science and other related fields. Although there are a lot less women who study these kinds of fields, the choice is available to them in our society today. There will always be some professors or counselors who will advise women to not study such fields, which is sad, but those women who have the desire, drive, and determination to succeed in these fields will have success. Nobody really knows why more men study hard sciences than women. There could be various reasons. But as long as there is an equal opportunity for both, we should not worry about why there are fewer women in a given field. The choice to study a particular field should be a personal choice.

Google versus China and their Censorship of the Internet

                In 2006 when Google started operating in China, it had to agree to censor search results. Now, after discovering that hackers in China had broken into their system, Google says it will no longer censor its search results. This means that Google would pull its business out of China if needed. Although this could potentially hurt Google, this is a good move because the Internet should be fully available to all. A government that tries to control the Internet is trying to control the lives of its citizens too much. Although there can be good uses for censoring or filtering certain aspects of the Internet, that should not be the government’s job. Our nation was founded on principles of freedom, such as freedom of speech. Although these freedoms might not exist in China, companies such as Google are trying to promote more freedom through the Internet. In the end this might hurt Google since China is such a big market, but more pressure will be put on China to allow greater freedom on the Internet for its citizens.

Google delays China phone launch

The Internet is the New Printing Press

 Computers and the Internet can certainly be compared to Gutenberg’s printing technology. Nowadays information can be circulated even faster than before. It is like any tool we use, whether it be for good or for bad. We are the ones who decide how to use it, and as members of Christ’s church, we should use it to build the kingdom. Besides speed, the Internet has also brought more freedom. Anyone anywhere can write about anything and anyone else can find that information. There is no central organization that controls the Internet and that allows us to find any information we want. This is not so with other technologies, such as television or newspapers, where the information given is tightly controlled and there aren’t many alternatives. The Internet contains misinformation and straight-out lies, but truth can also be found as well for those who diligently search for it—not just a simple Google search. If any single organization ever gains control of the Internet our freedom could be hampered. 

First test blog

This is to make sure the blog is set up correctly, and to verify it with Technorati. The code is 9YUXUGUADVKA