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Thursday, November 23, 2006
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Ok then! This was fun. This class was very interesting. At times, sorta contraversial (can u believe that?), but it was well worth it. I am not sure i will have a blog from here on out. However, it has been a helluva ride! Honestly, i am sorta glad it's over.
Through out this course, we've gone through the various steps in IT. We've discussed the differences between IT and an IS, Hardware, Software, BUSINESS, BUSINESS, BUSINESS, Ethics, Privacy, Accuracy of Data,etc. This course has been very informative and useful. Thanks to Dr. Mohan who is an interesting lecturer, also thanks Ms. Mohammed who was a great tutor. Good luck everybody!
20th POST....FINALLY!!!
Ok then! This was fun. This class was very interesting. At times, sorta contraversial (can u believe that?), but it was well worth it. I am not sure i will have a blog from here on out. However, it has been a helluva ride! Honestly, i am sorta glad it's over.
Through out this course, we've gone through the various steps in IT. We've discussed the differences between IT and an IS, Hardware, Software, BUSINESS, BUSINESS, BUSINESS, Ethics, Privacy, Accuracy of Data,etc. This course has been very informative and useful. Thanks to Dr. Mohan who is an interesting lecturer, also thanks Ms. Mohammed who was a great tutor. Good luck everybody!
# posted by Travis @ 7:01 PM
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The other day, a friend of a friend of mine broke into her boyfriend's computer. I think her justification was something like she needed to ensure that he wasn't cheating or something like that.
This was a blatant invasion of privacy. Regardless of the 'justification' of the action. This is very similar to the situation of the admin of UWI reading the emails of the students. Totally wrong, but a bit different because we dealt with the issue of ownership of the machines, let's not get into that again.
Dr. Mohan spoke about privacy issues which deals with the collection, storage, and dissemination of information about individuals.
Privacy
The other day, a friend of a friend of mine broke into her boyfriend's computer. I think her justification was something like she needed to ensure that he wasn't cheating or something like that.
This was a blatant invasion of privacy. Regardless of the 'justification' of the action. This is very similar to the situation of the admin of UWI reading the emails of the students. Totally wrong, but a bit different because we dealt with the issue of ownership of the machines, let's not get into that again.
Dr. Mohan spoke about privacy issues which deals with the collection, storage, and dissemination of information about individuals.
# posted by Travis @ 5:34 PM
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"Technology can either be used for advancement or debasement"-Travis Dane, mad man, Under Seige 2,Dark Territory.
Ok then! So here we are as a society, in our lil developing country. We have the ability to take pictures with our cellphones and send them via bluetooth or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Recently, there was a case where teenagers were passing x-rated pictures of themselves to others in the classroom.
We should use the technology that we have in a way that would potentially not harm others or disrupt other people. This was a very inappropriate use of the technology. I am not going to get into a debate as to whether adults do this and even worse, but in the case of these teenagers it was definitely out of order. Shame on them!
Cellphone Porno Ring in Schools
"Technology can either be used for advancement or debasement"-Travis Dane, mad man, Under Seige 2,Dark Territory.
Ok then! So here we are as a society, in our lil developing country. We have the ability to take pictures with our cellphones and send them via bluetooth or MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Recently, there was a case where teenagers were passing x-rated pictures of themselves to others in the classroom.
We should use the technology that we have in a way that would potentially not harm others or disrupt other people. This was a very inappropriate use of the technology. I am not going to get into a debate as to whether adults do this and even worse, but in the case of these teenagers it was definitely out of order. Shame on them!
# posted by Travis @ 4:37 PM
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Tuesday, November 21, 2006
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CMS stands for Content Management System and LMS stands for Learning Management System.
These systems, we learnt today are responsible for two very familiar functions. The CMS is responsible for editing the content on huge and frequently updated websites such as CNN.com. I must admit that even though I am aware of this website, I actually thought that all of theire data was "hard coded" into the system. THANKFULLY, it's not. Media houses for example use the CMS to update their websites on a daily and even more frequent basis. I really was thinking that there were these programmers in a litle room cranking out this code making the information available to us. (like an information sweat shop!) I am downloading Joomla right now!
Up next and finally is the LMS. This system we're probably all familiar with. The web application called WebCT is an example of a LMS. Dr. Mohan spoke about other free LMS's that are available. He also mentioned that there have been reviews of the systems and there have been comments made that there are others that are much better that WebCT. We should make an informed decision when selecting such a solution for our company/school/organization.
Today's class was very informative!
CMS and LMS
CMS stands for Content Management System and LMS stands for Learning Management System.
These systems, we learnt today are responsible for two very familiar functions. The CMS is responsible for editing the content on huge and frequently updated websites such as CNN.com. I must admit that even though I am aware of this website, I actually thought that all of theire data was "hard coded" into the system. THANKFULLY, it's not. Media houses for example use the CMS to update their websites on a daily and even more frequent basis. I really was thinking that there were these programmers in a litle room cranking out this code making the information available to us. (like an information sweat shop!) I am downloading Joomla right now!
Up next and finally is the LMS. This system we're probably all familiar with. The web application called WebCT is an example of a LMS. Dr. Mohan spoke about other free LMS's that are available. He also mentioned that there have been reviews of the systems and there have been comments made that there are others that are much better that WebCT. We should make an informed decision when selecting such a solution for our company/school/organization.
Today's class was very informative!
# posted by Travis @ 10:02 AM
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Monday, November 20, 2006
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It's true that these days we can't go anywhere without our simple cellphone. Such is the effect of information technology in our daily lives. However, what about the corporate and business world? IT has a strong following of users in industry. From the private sector to government, from the energy sector to KFC.
Today, in Dr. Mohan's class we discussed this point. We spoke about Bio-informatics, Ms. Singh made an informative post on her blog about the application of IT in this field. We also discussed IT's uses in Education and the role it plays there. The issue of e-learning came up. Dr. Mohan was saying that now from Bsc.'s straight through to Doctorates cane be earned online through the online universities as well as brick and mortar universities which have online learing facilities.
Other applications of IT were mentioned as well. The use of IT in Education was noted again when we discussed the use of Flight Simulation Software, taking 'virtual field trips' and using child education software. All of these avenues can be explored when we're talking about IT in other disciplines.
IT in other disciplines
It's true that these days we can't go anywhere without our simple cellphone. Such is the effect of information technology in our daily lives. However, what about the corporate and business world? IT has a strong following of users in industry. From the private sector to government, from the energy sector to KFC.
Today, in Dr. Mohan's class we discussed this point. We spoke about Bio-informatics, Ms. Singh made an informative post on her blog about the application of IT in this field. We also discussed IT's uses in Education and the role it plays there. The issue of e-learning came up. Dr. Mohan was saying that now from Bsc.'s straight through to Doctorates cane be earned online through the online universities as well as brick and mortar universities which have online learing facilities.
Other applications of IT were mentioned as well. The use of IT in Education was noted again when we discussed the use of Flight Simulation Software, taking 'virtual field trips' and using child education software. All of these avenues can be explored when we're talking about IT in other disciplines.
# posted by Travis @ 2:42 PM
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Wednesday, November 15, 2006
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Oh man! It's been a week! Time sure flies when you're having fun....in INFO 1400 of course. :)
So the semester is almost up and exams are upon us, some of us for the first time. I just want to say "Good Recollection!" to everyone at exams, study hard and trust that you'll make it!
This semester has absolutely flown. So much has been talked about and done in these past weeks makes you almost overwhelmed, but thankfully it's been manageable and it's actually been information and fun!
Good Recollection, Folks!!!
Oh man! It's been a week! Time sure flies when you're having fun....in INFO 1400 of course. :)
So the semester is almost up and exams are upon us, some of us for the first time. I just want to say "Good Recollection!" to everyone at exams, study hard and trust that you'll make it!
This semester has absolutely flown. So much has been talked about and done in these past weeks makes you almost overwhelmed, but thankfully it's been manageable and it's actually been information and fun!
# posted by Travis @ 6:42 PM
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Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Â
"With great power comes great responsibility"-Uncle Ben from Spiderman.
The discussion about ethics in IT is very relevant these days. Whether it's using someone else's images on your website, reporting information on an international news website or posting perceivably defamatory information on a blog.
Dr. Mohan was relating an interesting experience he had with a situation that occured in the department a few years ago. The main point that I pulled out of the discussion was that the students email was being read. Now, this post is not one that will call fire and brimstone 'pon those involved. Instead i will talk a bit about the rational behind the reading of the emails by the authorities. They basically said that since the computers and network belong to the university they were justified in reading the emails. This is interesting because it now make me less confident in the system her at my wonderful univerisity HOWEVER, i am not eternally disenfranchised. I disagree with the fact that they read the emails but I guess if they want to play it that way, then fine. We will just use out hotmail.com, yahoo.com, gmail.com, localISP.com and everywhere_else_but_UWI.com email accounts. No scene!
Does this mean that our email is now 'safe' from being read? The answer...an emphatic NO! Of course it isn't. The email systems and all computer systems for that matter are built with certain admin controls for maintainance purposes I suppose. The way in which your information is handled however is the key. The question is how responsible are these with this sort of power actually being? I am sure that all the alternative email servers I mentioned before can read your emails as well. I absolutely positive they can do such a thing. It boils down to if they will rummage through my emails to see what I've written. You have to ask yourself, do they care about what's in my email? What was the movitation for the email reading in Dr. Mohan's case? There was a purpose for it. It was misguided, but there was a purpose for it.
Another example of this is Cayman Island Bank Accounts. These accounts are private. The numbers are only known by the account holder and the bank. Now, these accounts are sometimes used for illegal reasons but that is not the purpose of it. My point is this. The bank has the information on these people but they cannot reveal this information just like that because it goes against their code of ethics.
So what's the final verdict? Just because you have the ability to do something (capability) does it mean that you absolutely should? (responsibility) No, you shouldn't. You should at least tell people that they are being monitored so that they would chose what information they wouldn't mind being seen.
Capability Vs. Responsibility
"With great power comes great responsibility"-Uncle Ben from Spiderman.
The discussion about ethics in IT is very relevant these days. Whether it's using someone else's images on your website, reporting information on an international news website or posting perceivably defamatory information on a blog.
Dr. Mohan was relating an interesting experience he had with a situation that occured in the department a few years ago. The main point that I pulled out of the discussion was that the students email was being read. Now, this post is not one that will call fire and brimstone 'pon those involved. Instead i will talk a bit about the rational behind the reading of the emails by the authorities. They basically said that since the computers and network belong to the university they were justified in reading the emails. This is interesting because it now make me less confident in the system her at my wonderful univerisity HOWEVER, i am not eternally disenfranchised. I disagree with the fact that they read the emails but I guess if they want to play it that way, then fine. We will just use out hotmail.com, yahoo.com, gmail.com, localISP.com and everywhere_else_but_UWI.com email accounts. No scene!
Does this mean that our email is now 'safe' from being read? The answer...an emphatic NO! Of course it isn't. The email systems and all computer systems for that matter are built with certain admin controls for maintainance purposes I suppose. The way in which your information is handled however is the key. The question is how responsible are these with this sort of power actually being? I am sure that all the alternative email servers I mentioned before can read your emails as well. I absolutely positive they can do such a thing. It boils down to if they will rummage through my emails to see what I've written. You have to ask yourself, do they care about what's in my email? What was the movitation for the email reading in Dr. Mohan's case? There was a purpose for it. It was misguided, but there was a purpose for it.
Another example of this is Cayman Island Bank Accounts. These accounts are private. The numbers are only known by the account holder and the bank. Now, these accounts are sometimes used for illegal reasons but that is not the purpose of it. My point is this. The bank has the information on these people but they cannot reveal this information just like that because it goes against their code of ethics.
So what's the final verdict? Just because you have the ability to do something (capability) does it mean that you absolutely should? (responsibility) No, you shouldn't. You should at least tell people that they are being monitored so that they would chose what information they wouldn't mind being seen.
# posted by Travis @ 6:26 AM
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Â
So we're probably all really relieved that our projects are done! I know that I am. Here comes the interesting part though. The presentations! This is the part where we have to show the class our businesses and the steps we're taking to form it into an e-business eventually.
I must say that i think some of the groups were not very adventurous. I know that we're doing an IT degree BUT did we really have to do a "computer business"? The good thing however was that they tried really hard and i was really glad to see such effort from my fellow colleagues. :) I can only hope that "Dotty Wines Ltd." can measure up to the performances of all the other groups. Until then....good luck and continued success to everyone!
Presentations...
So we're probably all really relieved that our projects are done! I know that I am. Here comes the interesting part though. The presentations! This is the part where we have to show the class our businesses and the steps we're taking to form it into an e-business eventually.
I must say that i think some of the groups were not very adventurous. I know that we're doing an IT degree BUT did we really have to do a "computer business"? The good thing however was that they tried really hard and i was really glad to see such effort from my fellow colleagues. :) I can only hope that "Dotty Wines Ltd." can measure up to the performances of all the other groups. Until then....good luck and continued success to everyone!
# posted by Travis @ 10:33 AM
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Friday, October 27, 2006
Â
From the very first set of classes where Dr. Mohan said that "IT cannot exist by itself...", it shows us that in building software (since we are doing IT) cannot merely proceed without any sort of consultation with those in authority. The decision makers, etc.
The SDLC-System (or Software) Development Life Cycle has 4 stages. It is not only used in IT (as I once thought), but also in any sort of project management activity. There is a mnemonic for the stages of the SDLC called FADPIM. This stands for Feasibility Study,Analysis,Design, Programming and Testing, Implentation and Maintainance. If these steps are followed, ur almost sure to come out of all of your projects happy. So, let's break down the phases.
Feasibility Study:- This is the process where the 'sponsor' of the project usually says that there's a problem that needs to be addressed. As a consultant,you go in and you see if the problem can be solved in the way that the 'sponsor' may be suggesting. During this phase, cost of replacement/upgrade should be taken into account to give the best advice possible to come to a solution. Keep in mind however, at this stage certain documents should be at hand. eg. contracts.
Analysis:- Since IT can't exist by itself, an analysis of the organization should be done to see exactly where an HOW to use the IT Infrastructure. The current business procedure should be looked at in order to see where there may be inefficiencies in the system. The customer's needs and solutions should be documented and signed to at the end of this stage. The purpose is two-fold. 1. to ensure that you have your guidelines as to what you should do, 2. so that you would know scope of work and you do not go outside of your scope of work unless agreed upon.
Design:- after all the documents have been drawn up and you begin ur design,it is then that you make preparations to treat with the problem at hand. Design can be done in different phases, hardware,software and the planning for training to use new system.
Programming and Testing:- Now that you're designs are all drawn up and you've gotten the appoval to start the actual code of the program and the testing in the environment.Testing really cannot truly be done during the implementation stage. It is better done in the Programming stage.
Implementation:- this stage is where the new solution is carried out.There are different types of implementation: Direct, Simultaneous and Phase implementation. Direct implementation is where the OLD system is scrapped (please understand the word "system" doesn't strictly mean computers) and the NEW one is used immmediately. Simultaneous implementation is where the old and new systems are used at the same time.The purpose of this is so that the new system can be taken through the business process and data is slowly but surely transferred to the system. This method can also be used to knock out the kinks in the system and to make further customizations for the organization. The phase implementation is were the new system is broken up and is implemented in different stages so that it can minimize the stress on the organization and make the implementation smoother.
and finally....
Maintainance:- prob the best part cuz u get paid each time..lol. BUT other than that, it is the part of the cycle where you go back into the organization and upkeep their systems with any relevant updates and procedures as well as make any additional changes to the system that need to be done!
From experience, this has been my basic understanding of the system. Hope it's clear!
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September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
20th POST....FINALLY!!!
Privacy
Cellphone Porno Ring in Schools
CMS and LMS
IT in other disciplines
Good Recollection, Folks!!!
Capability Vs. Responsibility
Presentations...
There's a process to everything.
The EARTH has officially gotten smaller!
There's a process to everything.
From the very first set of classes where Dr. Mohan said that "IT cannot exist by itself...", it shows us that in building software (since we are doing IT) cannot merely proceed without any sort of consultation with those in authority. The decision makers, etc.
The SDLC-System (or Software) Development Life Cycle has 4 stages. It is not only used in IT (as I once thought), but also in any sort of project management activity. There is a mnemonic for the stages of the SDLC called FADPIM. This stands for Feasibility Study,Analysis,Design, Programming and Testing, Implentation and Maintainance. If these steps are followed, ur almost sure to come out of all of your projects happy. So, let's break down the phases.
Feasibility Study:- This is the process where the 'sponsor' of the project usually says that there's a problem that needs to be addressed. As a consultant,you go in and you see if the problem can be solved in the way that the 'sponsor' may be suggesting. During this phase, cost of replacement/upgrade should be taken into account to give the best advice possible to come to a solution. Keep in mind however, at this stage certain documents should be at hand. eg. contracts.
Analysis:- Since IT can't exist by itself, an analysis of the organization should be done to see exactly where an HOW to use the IT Infrastructure. The current business procedure should be looked at in order to see where there may be inefficiencies in the system. The customer's needs and solutions should be documented and signed to at the end of this stage. The purpose is two-fold. 1. to ensure that you have your guidelines as to what you should do, 2. so that you would know scope of work and you do not go outside of your scope of work unless agreed upon.
Design:- after all the documents have been drawn up and you begin ur design,it is then that you make preparations to treat with the problem at hand. Design can be done in different phases, hardware,software and the planning for training to use new system.
Programming and Testing:- Now that you're designs are all drawn up and you've gotten the appoval to start the actual code of the program and the testing in the environment.Testing really cannot truly be done during the implementation stage. It is better done in the Programming stage.
Implementation:- this stage is where the new solution is carried out.There are different types of implementation: Direct, Simultaneous and Phase implementation. Direct implementation is where the OLD system is scrapped (please understand the word "system" doesn't strictly mean computers) and the NEW one is used immmediately. Simultaneous implementation is where the old and new systems are used at the same time.The purpose of this is so that the new system can be taken through the business process and data is slowly but surely transferred to the system. This method can also be used to knock out the kinks in the system and to make further customizations for the organization. The phase implementation is were the new system is broken up and is implemented in different stages so that it can minimize the stress on the organization and make the implementation smoother.
and finally....
Maintainance:- prob the best part cuz u get paid each time..lol. BUT other than that, it is the part of the cycle where you go back into the organization and upkeep their systems with any relevant updates and procedures as well as make any additional changes to the system that need to be done!
From experience, this has been my basic understanding of the system. Hope it's clear!
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Capability Vs. Responsibility
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There's a process to everything.
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