Blog 14: The Pros and Cons of Online College

The Pros and Cons of Online College http://www.googobits.com/articles/1977-the-pros-and-cons-of-online-college.html


I'm taking two online courses this semester, so I thought this would be a good topic to explore.
In my case it wasn't a question of pros and cons of online learning, it was a practical matter. My job has unusual hours and I am also on call. Taking a traditional in person class would be out of the question.

That is why I was happy that UNC-C offered online classes in my field. The advantages are many - you don't have to drive to class, worry about parking, etc. You can work on and submit your projects any time. In the class I take that has tests, you have a time period to take the test, and that usually covers hours that are available to me.

The cons are that I miss the immediate exchange of ideas between students and the teacher. I miss being able to ask a question and get an instant response. Online, it can sometimes take days to get an answer to a question. You also have to take into consideration that sometimes your computer or internet service may be down, or the university's system may be down. That is why, if you have a project, it is best to complete it before the deadline. That way, you give yourself room in case there are system problems. Usually, the professor will point this out to the students and urge them to complete their work ahead of schedule. Online, sometimes you can feel isolated too.

I think if a person is thinking of taking classes online, they should research the college that is offering the classes. I, personally, would stay away from online only colleges. I question their quality; I much prefer enrolling in online classes offered at a local university. Overall, I highly recommend a student trying at least one online class.

Benefits and Disadvantages of Online Learninghttp://www.learn-source.com/schools/pro_con_online.html

What are the positive and negative aspects of online learning?
http://www.elearners.com/resources/elearning-faq5.asp

Blog 13: IBM exec predicts the future of Linux, open source

IBM exec predicts the future of Linux, open source
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/08/07/IBM_exec_predicts_the_future_of_Linux_open_source-Network_World_1.html

Bob Sutor, IBM's vice president of open source and standards made 8 predications at the Black Hat conference. Most notable is that green computing will be top of the list and Linux is in perfect position to exploit this. He also stated that he sees no open source replacement for Linux.

He also noted that "The idea of Linux on the desktop will be significantly different. The very definition of desktop will change, and become more focused on clients that sit anywhere from a cubicle to the bottom of a pants pocket. Client focus will be on collaboration via open standards, cloud computing, enterprise appliances, Web 2.0 and rich-client platforms."

IBM is firmly behind Linux, as is Red Hat software and Novell. Linux runs on a lot of Enterprise servers, including Google.

The consumer desktop market, however, Linux does not fare as well. Some experts say just leave that space to Microsoft. One market that is huge for Linux is embedded systems. This market has grown quite a bit.

Again, we have the major threat of Microsoft. Most companies prefer to go with Microsoft for their Enterprise server operating systems. They know they can trust Microsoft, and also the learning curve is not as steep.

I personally see Linux continuing to dip into the market share of Microsoft, but I don't see it overtaking Microsoft.



References:
Commentary: the Linux Foundation and the future of Linux
http://www.linux.com/feature/132203
The Future of Linux
http://www.gregroelofs.com/reports/linux-19980714-top.html

The Rasterman: The future of Linux is embedded [Linux and Main]
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS7673542406.html

Blog 12: Google opens up new front in browser wars with Chrome

Google opens up new front in browser wars with Chrome
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080901-google-opens-up-new-front-in-browser-wars-with-chrome.html

Google, the most dominant company in IT today (sorry, Microsoft) recently released its own browser Chrome. As that popular idiom goes, the jury is still out. Nevertheless it has gotten some very good reviews, and, in time could become a contender in the infamous "Browser wars".

Let's look at a brief history of "browser wars". The first widely used browser was Mosaic in 1993. Sure there were other browsers such as Cello, Lynx, Arena, and AMosaic, but not many people knew of them.

The big browser release was Netscape Navigator in 1994. There were other browser releases that year, such as IBM Web Explorer, SlipKnot 1.0, MacWeb, IBrowse, Argo, and Minuet, but they had a very limited audience.

Netscape became the dominant browser and this led to one of the biggest IPOs in history and essentially kick started the so-called Dot-com boom.

Microsoft, of course, was not far behind. It released Internet Explorer in 1995. Most people considered Internet Explorer an inferior product. I was working at Microsoft at the time, and most of the engineers there preferred Netscape, they even bragged about buying Netscape stock!

Alas, as the brief history of the PC shows, Microsoft can be stubborn. Microsoft worked on making Internet Explorer better and eventually it toppled Netscape's dominance. When Netscape was sold to AOL in 1998, its browser had fallen way down in market share.

Today, of course, Microsoft still dominants the browser market, but it does have competitors (some say better alternatives). Browsers such as Opera, Firefox, and Safari have become popular, especially amongst the anti-Microsoft crowd.

Google, with its new browser, may someday topple Microsoft. Google represent the new school when it comes to technology. Microsoft, the old school.

References:

Browser Wars II: The Saga Continues

http://www.evolt.org/article/Browser_Wars_II_The_Saga_Continues/25/60181/

Browser Wars, Again
http://gigaom.com/2008/04/01/browser-wars-again/

Blog 11: Parents Still Struggling with the Ethics of Using Parental Control

Parents Still Struggling with the Ethics of Using Parental Control Software.

http://www.prleap.com/pr/5982/

I am not a parent (not yet, anyway), but I understand how they want to protect their children, and the Internet poses all sorts of problems. Especially with child predators.

However, programs such as Net Nanny go too far, in my opinion. I realize a lot of parents let their children know they are being monitored, but some don't.

What a lot of parents don't know is that these programs can be easily disabled. There are web sites and blogs that tell you how to disable programs such as Net Nanny. Children these days are very technically oriented and they know how to find these sites.

So, what is a parent to do? The problems of predators are bad enough, but also the ready access to pornography. I am very liberal, but I think pornography and children is a bad mix. They are too young to see these images.

Perhaps a compromise would be some sort of block for pornographic sites, but not so stringent that if a child searches on "Breast cancer" they would be blocked from legitimate content.

On the predator side, the onus lays with sites such as Myspace.com and Facebook. Myspace is notorious for attracting pedophiles. There are documented cases where such predators, using MySpace have, lured children away from their homes into meeting them. Myspace has implemented procedures to deal with these people and I think some progress has been made.

Parents in this day and age are nervous and they are using net monitoring programs such as Net Nanny and even microchipping their children. This is understandable, but the children do have rights. A balance needs to be found to make the children safe, but not take away their rights. I think as technology improves we will find the proper tools.

Blog 10: Computers for everyone

Computers for everyonehttp://media.www.mainecampus.com/media/storage/paper322/news/2007/03/01/SoapBox/Computers.For.Everyone-2752016-page2.shtml MIT Media Lab has developed a program to distribute $100 laptops to children in developing countries. The computer has a crank! But it works and connects to the Internet. Libya and Uganda have signed up to buy millions of these computers for their children (school age). MIT says they intend to "invent and creatively exploit new media for human well-being and individual satisfaction without regard for present-day constraints." Because this program is so ambitious, a number of roadblocks have emerged. Intel balked at the low price and a number of countries refuse to come up with the needed money. I think this is a great idea. I would expand it to every adult also. Whenever I go to the public library, I see every computer in use. And there is always a waiting list to get on the computers. These are usually people who are unemployed and looking for job opportunities. They need a computer, or at least - access to one. The job market has changed. Computers are necessary. I'm curious why Bill Gates isn't a big donor to this program. He has been very active in his charities - giving billions to needed causes. I realize he tends to concentrate on health issues, but computers are his roots. I would think he would be active in this area also.

I commend MIT for taking this step. I think they should also concentrate on the poor in the United States. We have too many children in our country without computers or access to computers. They already have so many disadvantages, we need to take this one away and help them. The benefits to our country will be immense. References: MIT finds ways to get computers to all children http://atticmooses.com/blog/2005/10/04/30/ Laptop Project for Developing Countries Hits Snaghttp://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17894663