Assignment 10

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 10

Quite an interesting story. I think that calling anything in it prophetic is a bit of a stretch. What many people do not realize is that there have been so called "prophesies" about computers and the internet for over one hundred years. Many writers and inventors considered the idea before the telephone was even in mass circulation. That being said there are some interesting things that they got right and wrong. They certainly got the timeline wrong. Mass acceptance of the internet is actually a very recent thing. Some think that the internet did not get the majority of the middle class until the I phone was invented a few years ago. They could not have been more wrong about censorship. The story has information regulated but in real life we can not shut up about free speech. The internet has a ridiculously strong anti-censorship movement going on to the point where anyone who is pro censorship is immediately hated by everyone. The internet has not gained any semblance of sentience. However, the story's description of intelligent computers being not violent is quite realistic. As opposed to computers killing everyone, as many other stories have portrayed. The tank is actually comparable to a server but it requires several servers to do what the tank does. Much like in the story we have become dependent on our computers. I no longer need to know how to spell anymore because computers do it for me. Unfortunately our computers cannot correct your and you're yet but they are getting there. The entire concept of logics is actually the next step in computing. Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana, and Google has their personal assistant. All of these companies are competing to make computers that can reasonably answer any question put towards it. It is exciting to think what the future may hold and what new technologies will be made.

Assignment 9

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 9

The assembly of a Dell laptop from start to finish is quite complex. To get the full picture we have to start at the very beginning with the source materials. Different mines from all over  the world produce the silicon, iron, gold, and other metals used in the circuit boards. The various types of plastic, glass, and coloring would come from a variety of factories. Next comes the more complex items. The processors made by Intel, hard drives made by WD, and the casing made by in house machines. From there Dell's suppliers wait for a Dell customer to order a laptop. These components are then quickly driven to one of Dell's manufacturing plants where they assemble the component into the start of a working computer. After the computer has been assembled it needs software. So they then install the operating system and any other applications that come with that particular type of laptop. The laptop is then shipped directly to the customer. This is incredibly efficient and money saving for Dell. Al-Qaeda is an organization  that exists so it has to have some sort of supply chain. Even the basics of food and water have to come from somewhere. I imagine that al-Qaeda has several supply chains in basics like food and water and in more advanced things such as weaponry. They probably have quite the supply chain when it comes to information as well. They have to misinform with one hand and keep an eye on their enemies with the other. The curse of oil is when the money that oil brings is in the hands of corrupt politicians in the countries that have oil. These politicians hold countries back by not using their people. This is a problem because the oil will eventually run out while if they used their people instead there would be growth that would be beneficial to the population and the planet.

Assignment 8

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 8

How have computers been used in my education? Well for starters this entire class is an example. The assignment instructions are posted through canvas and I post my essay on a blogging site that the teacher can use to see what I have typed. Through this blogging site other people can post comments on the assignment that can be useful in writing future assignments. Canvas is a useful tool in itself. Through it the teacher can post assignment, receive uploaded assignments, and grade the assignment all from one convenient place. The student can use canvas to look at graded assignments, receive instructions on assignments, message other students or the teacher, and many other useful things. Computers are also used heavily in my math course. Every homework assignment, quiz, and test are accessible to me through a website that they use. This site also includes the full textbook and slides full of useful information. Another way that I have used computers in my education is through the great wealth of knowledge that the internet possesses. For any question that is posed by any assignment the internet has tons of information on it. I use this to get more background information on the questions that are being asked in this class and in other classes. Music is another thing that the internet has a lot of. So if I get bored while studying or doing homework I can easily listen to any piece of music in existence. Computers also help with spelling. I admit that occasionally I misspell words any most word processors have some form of spell check that does a world of good for my assignments. I don't really use computers for much else regarding education but I know that there are several other tools that one can use to further education. For instance there are several online tools for learning how to program. One site that I found that has hundreds of free online courses is openculture.com. On this site they list several video courses made by top experts from places like MIT and Stanford. The great thing about the internet is how anyone can create anything. One man created a site filled with videos and instructions on how to play the guitar.This stuff is only the free stuff. There are several paid courses people can take online as well. 

Assignment 7

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 7

Some countries do better at some things because of a variety of factors. In globalization 2.0 where the country was geographically would make a difference. Both Mexico and Canada were in a great position to trade with The United States. Unfortunately when globalization 3.0 came around Mexico did not adapt fast enough and had major losses to Canada and China. In globalization 3.0 location is far less of a factor. Culture is quite possibly the most important competitive advantage that a country could have. Countries that have a culture of education and hard work do far better in globalization 3.0 than any other countries. Past advancement also plays a key part. Countries like the United States and Japan have the advantage of being rich economically as well as technologically. We already had the infrastructure of the internet set up by the time Globalization 3.0 came around. In this way The United States were partially responsible for making globalization 3.0 come around. 

A self-directed consumer is a person that wants to customize whatever it is that they are buying. Thanks to the internet everyone with a connection can pick and choose what they want. This is a major problem for some companies because of how easy it is for the consumer to pick a different company that works better. Everyone should become a self-directed consumer but few actually are. The entirety of Apple is an example of this. Apple products are inferior to most other computers and smartphones in both price and technology. What they are superior in is marketing. They have a very aggressive marketing campaign trying to make Apple products look cool and intelligent. This makes the masses buy their products without doing the proper research. I would most definitely call myself a self-directed consumer but, only on purchases that cost a lot of money. A person could spend hours on each item of food they buy but it would waste their time. I think that anything over $100 should be thoroughly researched and made to fit you, the consumer, best. 
Does globalization mean Americanization. The answer is both yes and no. America has headed globalization for years and continues to, to this day. As the world's second richest country other cultures may want to change to get more money. The culture of an area is really up to its inhabitants to keep alive or change. Some cultures with embrace our culture and some won't but the one's that won't can still take part in globalization, just not as much as the one's that do. Americanization itself is kind of not really a thing. America is just the culmination of several cultures and peoples. The culture of L.A is different from the culture of NYC which is different from Las Vegas. I would not be surprised if the idea of Americanization is nothing more than a scare tactic used by those who do not want to lose their power. 

Assignment 6

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 6

Free trade is trade between different countries with no restrictions. Basically any product could be shipped anywhere with no problems. Unfortunately several countries that claim to support free trade also apply tariffs and taxes to imports and subsidies to exports. While seemingly being helpful for the local economy these restrictions hurt both local and global economies. Free trade is important because in a global and flat market everyone should have equal opportunities regardless of simple things like lines on a map. Free trade also helps us learn how to better take advantage of this new flat world that we now live in. Economists almost universally agree that free trade does considerably more good than harm. They also think that countries should remove all tariffs and let employers work overseas without restrictions. The problem is that this new flat world scares Americans. Based on my observations of culture, this fear of outsourcing has been going on as long as outsourcing has existed. Our culture has built this idea that companies are evil and companies that take American jobs away are even more so. This coupled with the fact that we are on the other side of the baby boom has left Americans distrustful of trading with other countries. Our "us VS them" mentality has not helped much either. The new middlers seem to need a few basic traits. People skills is the first trait because this can help people think that the company cares about them. Of course this book was written in 2006 before smartphones and the internet really took off so the need for people skills may have changed. Versatility is very important. We are advancing at an incredible rate and if you cannot advance with us you will be left behind. This is why a good new middler will have to be able to learn and adapt to any task at a moments notice. I disagree with Friedman's assumption that there are jobs that cannot be automated or digitized. Artificial intelligence is growing at an exponential rate to the point where human level intelligence tasks could be performed by computers in as little as twenty five years. CQ + PQ > IQ is the idea that passion and curiosity are more important than intelligence. Friedman believes that someone with high CQ and PQ would be far better at any given task. It does not matter how smart someone is if they do not care about what they are working on. 

Assignment 5

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 3

The triple convergence is the way that the ten flatterers converged to create a flatter global playing field. Convergence I describes the initial creation of a playing field connected by the internet and the fall of the Berlin Wall. This convergence allowed collaborations on a level that had never been seen before. Distance, time, and to some extent language were removed from the equation. Convergence II describes how companies do not make the entire product anymore. Instead they specialize in one particular field and collaborate with other companies to make the finished product. Friedman calls this "horizontalization". Convergence III describes how China, India, and several other countries have had economic and political shifts that recently allowed their large population the ability to compete and collaborate in the global market. This brought several people with a strong work ethic into the work force. All of this is important because it summarizes the main idea of the past few chapters. Globalization is here to stay and it will have long lasting implications for years to come. In the India and Indiana case I think that both sides are exploiting each other.  At the start it was Indiana going to India for cheap labor. Unfortunately for Indiana closed minded politicians do not like irony. At the end it was India who got the most profit out of the situation. Indiana was out a million dollars and India got a million dollars and 43 fully trained employees. So I suppose it depends on who you ask. Everyone was sort of exploited in this situation. Intellectual properties are any creations of the mind. This is important because the question is raised of who owns a creation of the mind. Several companies have rules that give them the ownership of any idea made by an employee. As a capitalist this makes sense. Someone you pay to have ideas gives you the rights to those ideas. On the other hand, I am an internet user. One major belief of several internet users is the idea that information wants to be free. Should something as immaterial as an idea belong to anyone? I think that ideas should belong to everyone but, merchandising belongs to whoever made the idea in the first place.

Assignment 4

Justin Olsen

IST 1100

Module 4

I decided to research the position of senior computer programmer. I chose this position because my father is a computer programmer and is the easiest person that I could interview. I suppose I will start off with some basic information. Mean U.S. annual wage is $80,930, while Utah's annual mean wage is 76,290. My father earns about $90,000 annually because he has been working for several years at the same company. Job growth is average but, there is a plethora of available jobs. Basic education required is a bachelor's degree in computer programming. Programmers write instructions for everything that a computer does. Programmers program everything from spaceship protocols to administration services. My father programs administration services for an international corporation known as Infor. He helped write a piece of software known as GEM. He currently maintains the software to keep it up to date. Computer programmers also have to deal with some less creative and useful seeming jobs. My father told me that several times he has had to do some lower level tasks. He has had to crawl through hours of code and work customer support. Computer programming is not for everyone though. Being a programmer requires dedication, enjoyment, and time. Several people cannot deal with programming, myself included. This is part of the reason that programming jobs are in such high demand. Programming does have the advantage of easily being able to work from home without any trouble whatsoever.