An Artist's Rendition: Works

Stealing from Emergency Information

Tue, 25 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0500

In the United States, the Enhanced 911 service has been around since the early 1980’s. Enhanced 911 or E911 was born out of the necessity of emergency operators to be able to know from where a 911 call has been dialed, because it is often difficult to receive this information from the caller who could be panicking and barely capable of staying on the line. The original E911 service, meant for wireline phone numbers, uses a mapping through a database to find the location of the caller. This service; however, is not available to cell phones, for you could map the phone to a specific location, but merely the owners billing address. The phone, and the caller, will not necessarily be there. Along with the rise in cell phone usage, the FCC extended the need of the E911 to cell phones as well as wired lines. Wireless carriers are to comply with the second phase of the wireless E911 service by the end of 2005, which would allow emergency operators to know the location of a wireless caller to within 100 meters. While currently there are only good intentions involved, many people believe that the E911 infrastructure could be used by police agencies to monitor the public and turn the cell phone into a tracking device.

Problems with the Therac-25

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 23:59:59 -0500

Finger pointing has been a time honored tradition since the time of the caveman. No one is happy in a bad situation until blame can be place on someone or something. In the case of medical mistakes, blame is often the only way to find closure when grave errors occur. In the case of the Therac-25, in which 3 deaths and 2 severe injuries occurred, blame could be easily placed on the machine. However, what part of the machine was to blame? Was the hardware the culprit, or was the software at fault? In the article “An Investigation of the Therac-25 Accidents” by Leveson and Turner, the authors placed most of the blame on the software. I suppose I would agree with this as well, given merely the choice between software and hardware.

When the problem first became evident, the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) thought that it was a hardware problem, a microchip that delivered the position of a turntable in the system. After the first incident in Hamilton, the AECL determined that the way the turntable represented its position could lead the microchip to report ambiguous results. Even if a later problem showed that this incident could have been a software error as well, one has to wonder if there were not many other software/hardware problems. Due to the fact that the THERAC-25 relied more heavily on software for safety measures, there were not many hardware fail safes. Since machinery can have a tendency to break without warning, fail safes should have been put in place to stop the machine should there be any hardware malfunction. Also, the system itself was tested as a whole, and not in smaller modules. They should have taken the time to test the smaller components to see how they were holding up, and not just making sure the machine as a whole worked. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Should the .xxx be accepted?

Tue, 13 Sep 2005 23:59:59 -0500

A high school student is given an assignment in her biology class to do a report on a certain type of cancer. It just so happens that this student decides to research breast Cancer. Yet, when she sits down at her computer at home and googles breast cancer, she sees nothing but an error page because her parents have blacklisted the word “breast” from the computer. She could ask her parent’s to remove it temporarily, but who are we kidding. She moves on to lung cancer. How can parents, schools, and the general public alike separate pornography from information so that this student can learn the facts about breast cancer?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) recent decision to allow the .xxx Top Level Domain has stirred up a decent amount of controversy when the US government petitioned to postpone the final decision for a month. The Bush administration made the petition after having received concerns from individuals over what the impact of the domain would be, whether it would legitimize pornography on the internet and/or increase the amount of adult content online. All of the fears held by the administration that have been published are too general and vague to have any real value. When the domain was originally proposed and denied five years ago, politicians were outraged that ICANN had not accepted. The creation of an .xxx domain as a form of self regulation can only be thought of as a good idea, even though it will not be a complete solution to separating general information sites from pornographic ones.

Behind a Motherboard

Thu, 02 Dec 2004 00:00:00 -0500

This month's article is a continuation of my computer fundamentals series. This month I will continue with the Motherboard.

What is it? A motherboard

If you ever open up that black box sitting next to you, the first thing you will notice (besides all the wires and dust) is a green or yellow colored electronic board with all sorts of things sticking out of it and plugged into it. This is the motherboard, and it's very intimidating. Some of the things that you will often find plugged to this board are cables, other smaller electronic boards, and a big fan on top of a heat sink (a brick looking object made of metal blades used to dissipate heat) which hides the CPU (they get very hot). If it takes up a lot of space in the box, it must do something important right? What does this board do?

The Differences in Early to Late Merchant Economies

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0500

The economic differences between the late fourteenth, the early fifteenth, and the seventeenth centuries were pronounced. While both systems relied on mercantilism, there was a change in focus from production to trade as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries prepared for an industrialized economy. These similarities and differences in the economies can be seen by business opportunities and ventures found in the writings of the times. The Mediterranean based, merchant economy of the fourteenth century had access to business ventures including selling their craft and transporting goods as seen in the diaries of two Florentine merchants, Pitti and Dati. Likewise, the Atlantic based economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had many opportunities which not only included transportation of goods, but also incorporated the mass farming of base resources as seen in the novel, Robinson Crusoe.

The Princess of Cleves and Louis the XIV

Mon, 08 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0500

It is said that the Royal Courts of France in the late medieval and early modern times were filled with playacting. Despite the theatrical connotation of this word, people in these courts were not acting in true plays which contain a script, a stage, and actors all for the amusement of the audience or for their own pleasure. So, what is the definition of this dramatic term “playacting.” Playacting is when one acts in a hypocritical manner, “feigning to be what one is not,” It is interesting to see the contrasts made in one the first French novels, The Princess of Cleves, which critiques the playacting of the current royal court with that of a court of a previous dynasty. Although there are similarities between the two courts (specifically the role each aristocrat must play in his or her own part), The Princess of Cleves focuses more on how people had to hide their emotions with playacting, while the court of Louis the XIV used playacting to exaggerate the amount of power the King really had.

Mother Courage and the 30 Years’ War

Wed, 27 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Between the years of 1618 and 1648, the 30 Years’ War migrated across Central Europe from the original rebellion in Bohemia to its conclusion in Westphalia. Seeing as how this was war so lengthy, it is no surprise that it has left such a lasting mark in history. It must have also left a lasting impression on Bertolt Brecht since he decided to set his play Mother Courage and Her Children during this conflict, nearly 300 years after the event. Perhaps his inspiration for this play came about as he witnessed World War II unfolding across Europe. The political wheels in his head began to turn as he pieced this play together. He did not forget to illustrate the social and economical ramifications that come about in a war, and which we have discussed in the lectures, including the changing roles of women and children as well as the practice of religion. Economically, monetary gains and losses occur in every war.

The letters of two sisters from bohemia

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0500

The letters of Perchta and Anezka Rozmberk, two noble women in the fifteenth century, demonstrate the different roles of which they were expected to play in medieval, Bohemian society. Even though women did not enjoy equal rights, they did have limited rights including rights to own property. For example, a family’s patrimony was divided between all children, but sisters received a smaller inheritance than their brothers (Klassen, 20). Because of this, there was a big difference between the way married women like Perchta and unmarried women like Anezka were able to handle their property. Marriage in medieval Europe was not simply a union of a man and a woman, and not always for love. Because these women were tied to property (which they were not fully able to control), marriage could be seen as a property bound contract.

About the Processor

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0500

This article will be the first in a series of informative articles on the fundamentals of computers. I know that it sounds a little intimidating, "fundamentals of computers", but I'll be trying my best to make to topic easy to understand. Each article in the series will focus on one or two parts of a computer. I'll be looking at how these parts work, what do the numbers attached to these parts mean. Additionally I'll be giving some buying tips, what to look for when buying these parts, and how to add them to your computer systems. Please, don't let the last sentence scare you; my main intent on these articles is just to give you a little bit more knowledge about these magical "black boxes" so the next time you have a problem, or are out getting a new one because the old one just doesn't work anymore, you can take a step back, and realize that the computer does not control you.

Reflecting Economic Circumstance in Florence from Pitti and Dati

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Life in Renaissance Florence was far from dull. The accounts of Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati are incredible renditions of society, life, and economics in Florence in the 14th and 15th centuries. Both businessmen portray different views of Florence, as well as expressing different views about modern misconceptions of Florence at this time. While Pitti discusses a great amount about the politics and international ambitions of the city-state, Dati shows a clear example of what the new “free” merchant society was able to give to its citizenry. It is clear that there were many economic opportunities in Florence in the late 14th century, and these opportunities gave way to changes in economic and political structure which not only had a significant effect on the city’s current demographic and economic circumstances, but would eventually lead to new ways of thinking and organizing society.

Worms and Viruses

Fri, 16 Jul 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Email, though more than decades old, is considered by some to be today's killer app. Most of today's business rides on the highways of the internet, as people communicate more by email than by fax and phone. And why not? With email you get a record of conversations and message you send or receive - so for those of us who are a little forgetful, we can look up any email we have stored. It's quick, fast, and painless communication. Write up a message, press send, and most of the time the email arrives within minutes, that means you'll likely receive a reply before the end of the hour instead of the end of the day.

Overview of Microsoft Outlook

Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Continuing our discussion on Microsoft Office programs, this month we'll go in depth into the least understood program: Microsoft Outlook. The problem with Outlook is that it's more then just a simple email reader it's actually a Personal Information Manager (PIM). As a PIM, Outlooks main function is to store all your personal information (calendar, contacts, email) and make it all easily accessible (online or offline) - it's a program specially designed for those who like to be very organized. But even if you aren't overly organized, there are still many tools in Outlook that help you navigate even your email easily.

Simple Microsoft Excel Tips

Mon, 16 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

We all know Word, its Microsoft's popular word processing application. Along with word, Microsoft also maintains a suite of office programs including Excel, PowerPoint and many others. All of these programs have become popular because they are easy to use yet have so much power and flexibility. Unfortunately, because they have perhaps a little too much power, it's not easy for anyone to sit down one day and find out how to use some of the applications more powerful tools.

Windows Shortcuts

Thu, 15 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Ever since we entered the age of graphical computing with Windows we started relying on the mouse as the only interaction with the computer and forgot all about the keyboard. In the days of DOS all we had was pretty much a keyboard and as such DOS programs were made with that in mind. DOS programs allows you to access much needed tools with the use of the keyboards and shortcut key presses using some of the extra non alphanumeric keys like Alt and Ctrl.

Value and Exploitation and Other Thoughts

Tue, 15 Apr 2003 11:53:19 -0500

Marx’ Capital, a multivolume work devoted to explaining the inner workings of the capitalist system of production and the exploitation of the proletariat, was an attempt of an application of historical materialism. For Marx, history is but the constant struggle of classes as the society as a whole tries to develop the means of production. ^[1] With the constant development of the means of production, new relations of productions succeed previous ones to continually develop the means in the most optional manner. Yet, every new change in the relations brings about a new ruling class that exploits all the classes under it. This is the basis for the struggle of classes, and this system Marx claims, is still very central in capitalism, for which his work Capital is devoted to showing.