Internet Technology

Precis # 4

The video “Growing Up Online”, is about the dangers and risks that occur online. Teenagers today rely heavily on the internet for almost everything.They use it for entertainment purposes like video games, but use it mostly for chating with one another, and expressing themselves. They post personal information on social networking sites such as Facebook or Myspace. Some say that having a myspace or facebook profile is similar to living in an alternate world. They believed that online, you can be whoever you want to be, and still be accepted. However, some teenagers bully and harass other teens. This behavior is known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can lead to fights and in some cases death.

A seventh grader named Ryan became a victim of cyberbullying. Fellow students at his middle school started rumors about him via a networking website. He was also humiliated by a girl through chat. In October of 2003, Ryan commited suicide by hanging himself. He met someone online that he became friends with, who instead of consoling Ryan, kind of helped him plan his suicide.The boy told Ryan about a website that taught you how to hang yourself and how to tie a noose. He also showed Ryan a website that has you fill out a questionaire, and it tells you which method of suicide best suited you. Ryan’s friends say that the breaking point was when he was humiliated by a girl who played a practical joke on him via email.  Ryan’s parents however, doesn’t put the blame on the kids that bullied him or the boy the showed him the website. Ryan’s father says putting the computer in Ryan’s room was a mistake, placing some of the blame on him. He said the computer wasn’t the cause of Ryan’s suicide, but it did help amplify it.

I agree with Ryan’s parents when they instead take responsibility for their son’s actions, rather than blame the students who bullied him or the boy who helped him plan his suicide. Parents can only moniter their children’s actions some of the time. If they try to block “bad” websites and moniter their child’s actions, their children will either find a way to get past the blocks or just get annoyed at their parents. It is up to the parents to communicate with their children and teach them right from wrong. If his parents would have talked to him more, then Ryan probably would have talked to them, instead of talking to the boy that helped him commit suicide.

The article, “The mother and son torn apart by web cult that destroys families”, discusses whether or not Stefan Molyneux, is responsible for the disappearance of an 18 year old man. Stefan Molyneux created Freedomain Radio. Freedomain Radio is a philosophy show that runs on the web, and features many of Molyneux’s own philosophies. His philosophy that children/parent relationships should be voluntary, had an impact on 18 year old Tom.
The day Tom left, he left a note saying that he needed time away from his family. In the note, he also urged them not to contact him. Tom was going through a process developed by Molyneux called defooing. Defooing is the process of freeing oneself from their family of origin.
Tom’s mother, Barbara Weed, says that Molyneux is fully responsible for her son running away from home. She accused Molyneux of corrupting the minds of teenagers and turning them against their families. Ms. Weed’s son Tom however, defended Molyneux. In an interview with the Times, Tom denied that he was manipulated by Molyneux in any way. He says that Freedomain Radio wasn’t a cult at all, but instead a place to go to discuss ideas and concepts. Freedomain Radio, which is based in Canada, was started three years ago and has been growing ever since. Tom called Molyneux during one of his podcasts to discuss veganism last April. During their conversation, Molyneux suggested that Tom’s parents could be the root of his problem. Tom said his departure away from his family was because of the fact that his father was verbally abusive. He claims his father would yell, swear, and trash rooms. However, Tom’s older brother disputed that claim by saying that their childhood wasn’t anything like that.
I believe that Freedomain Radio is a cult. If Molyneux was a true philosopher, he would have gave Tom advice on building a better and healthier relationship with his parents, instead of just criticizing them both. Ian Haworth of the Cult Information Centre, said that one of the first signs of a cult is that it cuts people off from their families, which is exactly what Molyneux convinced Tom to do. However, I don’t think Molyneux is solely responsible for Tom’s departure. Tom’s 18 years old, so he should be able to make his own decisions now. If he were a teenager, it would be Molyneux’s fault, but he is an adult, so it isn’t.

Jonathan Singleton

Internet Technology

                                    Precis # 2

         The articles “Microsoft steps up browser battle”, and “Behind the scenes of Firefox 3.0”, both talk about the new technological advances in internet browsers. There is growing competition among internet browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.

         Microsoft stated that Internet Explorer 8 is better than all of its competitors. Microsoft claims that Internet Explorer 8 will run faster, and have better security software than any other web browser out. Internet Explorer has been declining while Firefox and Safari have been on the steady rise. Statistics proved that the once dominant Internet Explorer, was now losing business to competitors. Along with the quicker speed and higher security, Internet Explorer 8 will have new features. One of the features is tab isolation. Whenever you enter a harmful website, tab isolation will only make the tab close, rather than the entire web browser. They also added “InPrivate Filtering”. InPrivate Filtering allows users to see and block a third party provider from tracking your activities. Also included will be InPrivate Browsing. InPrivate Browsing without having their browsing history saved.

         Firefox is also coming out with a newer version called 3.0. Version 3.0 is scheduled for release June 17. The Mozilla Foundation is attempting to outsale Firefox 2.0, which had 1.6 million downloads the day it was released. Like Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.0 will be faster and have more security.

         Firefox 3.0 and Internet Explorer 8 be sound promising. They both will have more security, and be faster. However, I think Internet Explorer 8 will have the edge on the competition. It has the same thing Firefox 3.0 has, and more. I think Microsoft was more creative when it came to their newer version of their web browser. Mozilla hasn’t really added that many new features, Firefox 3.0 will basically just run faster and be slightly more protected. Both Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.0 will be faster and more secure, but i think Microsoft’s InPrivate Filtering and InPrivate Browsing will give Internet Explorer 8 the advantage.

                                    Precis # 1

            The article “The Wired Presidency…”, talks about President Obama’s use of technology during his campaign for presidency. Many believed that Obama had bought the government into modern times by heavily relying on the internet for his campaign ads. Obama’s first YouTube address after winning the presidential election, had been viewed over one million times. Addressing the nation via YouTube was a success, simply based on the large number of views he received.

            Obama continued to stay up to date by subscribing to Twitter. He has over 150,000 followers on Twitter. He also started the website My.BarackObama.com, to help with his campaign. My.BarackObama.com was a website in which his supporters could make profiles, chat, and get information on his campaign. It was reported the Obama had more supporters on Facebook.com and more followers on Twitter.com than his opponent John McCain did. He even received more visitors on his website than John McCain.

            The government already have websites out, but many of them are outdated. Obama promised to keep the nation up to date by putting live meetings, and legislations on the web for the public to view and comment on. In 2006, Obama passed the Google for Government Bill, which led to the website, FedSpending.org. People were able to track government spending, via the website. He believes this would help establish a personal connection between the White House and the nation. Obama has had over 20 million visits to his YouTube page since it was first established in 2006.

            I think it was very strategic for Obama to rely heavily on technology during his campaign. It shows that he is up to date with today’s society. Having a Facebook and Twitter page and constantly updating them kept him in touch with the younger demographic. He won the votes of the younger demographic by simply staying in touch with modern America. He encouraged many of the younger demographic to not only vote for him, but to register to vote. Him blogging also made many young adults interested in politics. I believe he ran a strategic campaign because not only did he target the middle-aged votes, he also targeted the younger votes. He got the younger generation, such as myself, interested in politics, when we previously weren’t.