UWB

What might you do with access to UWB radio transmissions if you had a receiver in a car?

Ultra Wide Bandwith radio seems as though it could have endless possibilities in the future, this new technology seems to be the next step in our society.  UWB radio allows for a lot of information to be sent to your car wirelessly this would allow for a person's entire music library to be at their disposal while in the car, this would eliminate the numerous wires used throughout car.  Furthermore this could potentially allow for increased safety while driving, rather than have people on their cell phones this could allow for wireless chat with friends and family.  This new technology seems as though it is the future and possibilities seem endless, what could achieve with having such wireless capabilities in our cars? 

ken zeran

What might you have done differently if you were in the position of artist Ken Zeran, mentioned in this chapter?

The whole situation encompassing Ken Zeran and AOL is very unfortunate, however I feel as though Zeran did as much as he could have given the predicament that he was in.  Therefor I don't think I would have done anything differently then Zeran did because I do not see what else he could have done.  I may have tried to keep contacting AOL over and over again  more so then Zeran did so as to remove the posts sooner then AOL did, though I do not know the even more persistent calling would have been effective.  I think what need to change in this case was the actions of AOL, Zeran pleaded with them to remove the posts due to the harassment he was receiving, and though the posts were removed it could have been done in a more timely fashion.  I believe what Zeran did was all that he could really due and that it is more so on AOL for not removing the posts fast enough that is at fault here.  

DRM

What’s the value of a bit? It seems that going after folks who have traded songs or movies online is a huge expenditure of effort and money. Is DRM-protected content the way to go? If you don’t agree, propose another method for the distribution of digital multimedia so that content creators can still be compensated.


The value of a bit does not necessarily have a single price bestowed upon it, but regardless a bit is highly valued in today's society because of the vast amount of damage a bit can cost.  Most individuals believe that record companies make more than enough money, which may be true, however by illegally downloading a song the company could be losing a significant amount of money as stated by Abelson.
 Illegally downloading various forms of media may save the individual some amount of money though is it really worth it?  For individuals that do not download a lot it may be because they are at a lower risk of getting caught and having a lawsuit against them, nevertheless they are still at a risk of getting caught. 
Currently the DRM-protected content is surfacing, which is protecting the songs on a cd from being shared on the internet.  However it comes at an inconvenience to individuals, as technology has grown people have adapted to it, in this case ipods are owned by many individuals.  Though CD's hve not fallen off completely they are not being used as frequently as they once were.  DRM protection does not allow you to put the MP3 files onto your computer and eventually onto an ipod or other device.
What then could be a proper solution if DRM-protection not the most useful, Fortunately there are proper ways to obtain music, such as itunes or rhapsody.  Resources such as these allow individuals to obtain music but they must pay a small fee.  As a society sites such as these need to be emphasized more as well as the consequences of illegally downloading music.  By doing this individuals will diverge from illegal downloading and begin to use proper websites.  Though this would not eliminate illegal downloading it would certainly decrease it.   

FOAF network

What professional benefits do you see by investing some time in a FOAF-style network?


FOAF networks or Friend of a Friend network are becoming a staple of society today by allowing individuals to communicate with one another and establish connections with one another.  FOAF network sites like facebook and linkedin have created benefits for both companies as well as individuals.  Companies have the ability to expand their customer and interest base through such social networks, hopefully resulting in more popularity and revenue.  From and individuals standpoint the use of FOAF networks develops constant contact, user may be connecting with friends and from there they may begin to communicate with a friend of a friend building their own social network and possibly/hopefully expanding their professional career.  To some it may seem far fetched but there is a possibility that certain FOAF networks can lead to an individual being discovered and gaining a job in a desired field.  FOAF networks do not ensure any results, but in this day and age it can't hurt because there is little downside to presenting yourself through a FOAF network.

EBAY and Trust

Considering the Prisoner’s Dilemma in this chapter, provide your own insight on how sites such as eBay “work” for most participants of this popular online auction site. Do they really work? Or is there too much risk?


The prisoners dilemma is based on trust, trust that the other individual will not give you up and ultimately allow for the most favorable outcome for both individuals.  For many this is a hard concept because there is a possibility that the other person may blame you, which would result in one individual getting off scott free while the other endures all the punishment.  EBAY in a sense works the same way, at least in regards to the trust factor; Ebay is a live auction that poses buyers and sellers together.  Buyers seek to purchase a good at a cheap price while sellers look to get the most money for their good.  If a price goes to high certain buyers will stop bidding because it is not in their best interest to go any higher.  These laws of economics require that buyers and seller work together much like in the prisoners dilemma to achieve the best result for both individuals.  However there happen to be other trust issues associated with ebay.  Sellers must trust that buyers will pay for what they won and buyers must trust that sellers will send them what they had won.  I personally have used ebay before and though my experiences have tended to be good on a few occasions the seller did not send me the item and ultimately resulting in me losing money.  For certain individuals ebay is a big risk and therefore they do not use it, but for others that are trustworthy ebay can be a goldmine as long as everyone works together, which promotes the best results.

information cascade

Look deeper into the concept of a “information cascade.” Can you cite an example of where following the actions of others was a sound idea? Where doing so ended up being a poor choice?

Information cascade describes when a person or a group of people observe an individual doing something and from there they take up those same actions.  Shirky shared awareness/information cascade in chapter 7 describing the three basic principles of shared awareness.  One of the most famous examples of information cascade is the fall of the Berlin Wall, the wall that separated East and West Germany after World War 2 the wall still remained intact only to stir up protest from individuals.  These protest grew larger and larger each day until finally in 1989 the wall came down by the hands of these very individuals.  The idea of poor information cascade is the when a protest is seized and dismantled by the government or by authorities when a small number of people begin to protest and eventually become arrested or worse injured or dead because of their actions.   

Technology and revolution

Based on the quote from this chapter, ““revolution doesn’t happen when society adopts new technologies--it happens when society adopts new behaviors,” do you agree or disagree? Cite examples to support your position.


I agree with Shirky's statement that revolution doesn't happen until a society adopts a new behavior.  Technology is ever growing becoming faster, smaller, lighter and more user friendly such growth in technology drives individual desires to own a a piece of technology.  However this does not start any sort of revolution it is when a certain technology becomes part of the society and part of individual behaviors that a revolution is created.  When a certain form of technology essentially becomes life part of life itself is when revolution is created.  This revolution if from an individuals norms and past behaviors because some sort of technology allows for the process to be done much more easily.  In today's society it seems as though social networks such as facebook and twitter are changing people's behaviors.  Never before did individuals spend countless hours examining pictures, status' and wall posts, but in today's society it has become a norm a revolution has occurred changed the social aspect of our society.  Shirky makes a reference to e-mail in chapter 6, and how email changed society and its behaviors.  When email was developed there was no more need for postcards or hand written letters email was the new technology that allowed individuals to communicate with one another.  Furthermore email was far superior to sending anything by mail because it was faster and more inexpensive.  Therefore it is not the development of a new technology that begins a revolution but rather the adoption of new behaviors.