Some of the areas of concern are e-mail, online chat and newsgroups.  When we communicate electronically, all we see is a screen. We do not have the ability to use facial gestures, body language or to hear someone’s tone of voice. Needless to say, messages can be misinterpreted if we don’t follow simple “netiquette” rules.

Some of the core rules of the internet are as follows:

• Never write in all caps, you may upset the person receiving the e-mail.
• Never write something that you wouldn’t say to their face.
• Notify readers of “flaming”. This is when a discussion takes place about something negative. This could be a group discussion that is discussing something like politics, the economy, or any other subject that the group wants to discuss. It is important to notify participants that the discussion is “flaming”, so they are not upset by the conversation.
• Follow the same rules online as you would in real life. Breaking the law still applies to online actions as well.
• Have respect for other users when online.

In conclusion, remember that you are online and people can track what you are doing and everything you send or write may be recovered eventually. Follow the rules of the net and you will be a happy and a long time surfer on the net and in the e-mail world.

http://www.yeawedo.com/netiquette.htm

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

VoIP systems take analog signals and transfer and restructure the signals into digital data that can be transferred over the internet. Why is this beneficial to the consumer? Well, it takes the digital data and bypasses the phone company, which means there is no cost to making an internet phone call.

VoIP providers like Vonage have been around for some time.  AT&T is also getting into this market and working with FCC to develop systems Worldwide. There are three different systems in use today, as follows:

IP Phones: These phones look just like the phones you and I use every day, the only difference is that they run through an Ethernet connection. IP phones connect directly to a router, which means you can send and receive calls on your computer.

ATA: (Analog Telephone Adapter). The ATA allows you to connect a standard phone directly into your computer or internet connection so a VoIP connection can be established.

Computer to Computer: This is the easiest and most common way to use a VoIP. You don’s pay for long distance calls and all you need is the software such as: sound card, speakers, microphone and an internet connection. The preferred connection for a computer to computer VoIP connection is a high speed modem like DSL or cable. 

The major move with VoIP systems started in 2004 with the development of mass market VoIP systems that work through broadband internet connections. Many of these emerging companies offered low cost calling and free system to system service, which really caught the consumer’s eye.

The benefits to these types of systems are that they can reduce communication cost and offer new services that the typical phone system cannot offer. On the negative side of things, if you lose your internet service, you lose your ability to make or receive calls.

http://communication.howstuffworks.com

http://wikipedia.com

94% of the (140) participants who were involved in the study rated “Mojave” higher than the Windows Vista operating system. 0% of the study group rated the new operating system, codenamed “Windows Mojave” lower than Windows Vista before the campaign was conducted. One of the reason why Microsoft conducted this study was because of some negative feedback the received from consumers. Microsoft reported that they sold approximately 140 million copies, which Microsoft’s fastest selling operating system is ever sold. Because of the amount of units sold, and the many complaints, they felt that conducting a study such as the “Mojave Experiment” would expose some of the flaws in the system.

Of the 140 study participants polled (on a scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest).

• Windows Vista pre-study score was 4.4
• The “Mojave” pre-demo score was 8.5

The types of computers that the study participants used during this experiment are as follows:

• 84% Windows XP users
• Apple operating system users
• 14% Pre-Windows XP users
• 1% Linux users
• Some users used multiple platforms

The study had many critics and complaints as well. Critics stated that the software was pre-loaded, so the Vista systems really didn’t get tested at all. They also complained that the videos shown did not address connecting to new devices, Wi-Fi networks and VPN applications.

Others say that the study was a good representation of the operations system. Many of the pr0 Vista users say that it will take time to fully understand the small little glitches that are occasionally happening with this operating system.

References:

http://www.mojaveexperiment.com/facts

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/technology/04vista.html?_r=1

http://www.wikipedia.org/

The average lifespan of a personal computer went from 4-5 years to 2 years. In 2002 the world’s one-billionth computer came off the assembly line. The big question is…where are all theses old computers going?  Throwing computers in the trash is not a good idea; computers contain hazardous materials that can cause environmental damage over time. One way of getting rid of your old computers is eCycling. Ecycling is a way that we can safely get rid of our old computer and hardware by recycling the electronic components. If you do decide to do this, remember to erase your internal hard drives before you get rid of your computer. Many people have become victims of identity theft because they forgot to erase all their personal information from their computer. Many of the big computer companies have programs in place to take back old computers and offer discounts on upgrades.

The environmental impacts of computer waste are, and will continue to impact our environment for many years. In 2004, experts estimated that approximately 315 million computers ended up in landfills, incinerators and hazardous waste plants. Think of the amount of plastic, scrap metal and many other chemicals this emitted into our environment.

We talked about the impact on the environment regarding “old’ computers and hardware, but what impact does the manufacturing of these products have on the environment? It takes approximately 528 pounds (6400 mega joules of energy) of fossil fuel to make one desktop computer and monitor. Many of the chemicals used are toxic and the water use is significant at 3,300lbs to make ONE computer…WOW!

We can no longer ignore the impacts that E-waste is having on our environment. We as a society can do a number things to help make the world a greener place by waiting to upgrade our systems as long as we can, selling old machines to the used product market and finally recycling all of the electronic components at an approved E-waste facility.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

References: Municipal Solid Waste in the United States/Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Thank you for visiting my blog page. This blog will take you through my career path, family life and many other adventures that I am sure you will all find very interesting. I look forward to working with all of you this semester!

That’s me on the far right with my colleagues.

Talk soon,

Keith