Post 5

    This is the last dispensation of the Lord, and nothing can stop the church from growing. The church membership is the strongest in number it has ever been. This is through the faithful service of missionaries and through the ease of information that anyone can access. Computer Science is a relatively new field of study that has come about due to the Lord's intent and purposes to be fulfilled. He is hastening his work and giving all of his children and opportunity to accept the truth. I am deeply humbled at the opportunities that lay before me in potentially developing life altering services through my use of computer science. Regardless, if I ever work for the church, I can still produce significantly helpful programs that can emphasize my standings with the Lord.

Study Journal 7

Tuesday Mar. 31

• the article The Church and Computers: Using the Tools the Lord has provided was a nice breathe  of fresh air. Whenever computer use is brought up in a church setting 99% of the time pornography is mentioned. It was nice to hear more about their benefits and less about their harm. 
• The redesign of Mormon.org in recent years is a risky bid, because some members may post harmful information despite having good intentions. However, I believe this is minimal and I feel the use of peer to peer is effective.
• Computers, "If we don't use them to teach his gospel, Satan will use them to lead the people astray" (Elder Packer). This inspired me to maybe let my testimony be heard by starting a blog or simple post on various sites. We never know the good we could have. 

Thursday April 2

• The technology departments of the church literally have an eternal impact. With so many tools available, it helps people build a testimony and prepare for the blessings of God. 
• The firewalls that the church puts up reminds me of the walls Captain Moroni had built to combat the armies of the Lamanites from invading their cities (Alma 49). Much in the same way, the church is trying to preserve their lives and beliefs. 
• The fact that people are trying to hack into and sabotage the church is another testament to me that this is the Lords church and that the work will roll forward. 

Tuesday April 7

• The tools that the world has available today to learn, teach, and prepare for celestial glory is a testament to me that the Lord is hastening his work. 
• I found it quite humbling that the church has invested millions in the accumulation of family records. Love really is the motivating factor and is the most enduring of all other emotions. 
• Family history is essential. Not only is the work of the Lord done for the living, but it is done for the dead. This really shows the love of God because no one is going to be forgotten. 
• Perhaps one is left without excuse for not doing family history work. Despite the intimidating aspects of the unknown, the websites and resources at hand are the simplest and most efficient the world has ever had in doing genealogy.

Thursday April 9

• I'm kinda of a wuss so I don't try things that are going to break bones, but I never really thought that putting our bodies in situations that can harm them physically plays into keeping our bodies clean.
• I've always carried the view that the most important asset the Lord has entrusted in us to care for is our own bodies. Our Bodies are awesome and complex. It is irreplaceable and magnificent. 
• It is ironic that the devil seeks to destroy what he doesn't have, a body. 
• Our bodies are meant to be kept in firm health. It is the personal thing to care for most. 

Post 4

      Perhaps, one of the most interesting phenomenons within the last fifteen years is the unforeseen impact of Social media. According to the Alexa top 500 websites, Facebook is currently ranked number two, Youtube is in the number three spot, and Twitter is at number eight. People like to interact. Social Media provides the ability for anyone to interact with a one to many approach. This has frustrated the business world which is now under the constant pressure of negative reviews surfacing and spreading. Yet, this isn't a bad thing because it holds any business with customer service to a higher standard of ethics and service. People tend to trust the reviews of their fellow peers despite the bias. For better or worse, people post their opinions and views. Even the growing threat of the radical terrorist group ISIS, is using Twitter as a means of recruiting internationally. While others are posting articles relaying the brutality of this middle eastern organization. Social media has been an intricate part of the evolution in the world wide web and the interactions the world now shares together. 

Study Journal 6

Tuesday Mar. 17

• Women are a minority in the CS field, which is to their advantage. However, i don't believe in a causation that can be attributed to this result. I personally think, most women probably don't find it to be an attractive major of study. Most sane people don't. 
• I didn't realize that gender had anything to do with technological barriers or differences. It sounds like hog wash. The fact that anyone is saying that technology needs to be adapted to a specific gender sounds like they have an excessive amount of time to waste. Why is this a concern? 
• I do see validity in getting both genders involved in a predominately gender specific field. Both bring character and insight to the area of interest. If more women were in computer science, we would probably be years ahead in technology due to their contributions. 
• Hearing all the harassment stories makes me feel a bit uneasy about what I may encounter in the workforce. Probably best to keep my composure in a situation as such. 

Thursday Mar. 19

• The "problem" of getting women in the field of computer science is not a problem in my opinion.In fact it seems laughable to think it is a problem.People get caught up with minimal trivial issues that warrant no attention. A problem in my mind is the growing threat of ISIS or the people suffering in prison camps in North Korean. Bigger fish, real problems.
• Women or other minorities of any given field shouldn't feel the pressure of being forced one way or another. For instances, pressure to get more men as elementary school teachers. Let people follow their own pursuits. 
• I have made it a point to introduce people to programming. It is a wonderful thing to learn. Perhaps if they introduce programming to children at a younger age then they would get a much broader range of people in CS fields. 
• The statistics shown in class were really annoying. There are advantages to being a majority and a minority. Our class discussion was so focused on minority that we completely discredited the majority.

Tuesday Mar. 24

• Time is arguably one of the most precious assets a person has. It is irreplaceable. Therefore, wasting away in front of a television or video game should be a huge red flag. Video games can be a good way to distress, but they should never take precedence. 
• When I was young I got sucked into the online game Warcraft. It is the closest thing to an addiction I have ever experienced. However, now that I'm older and my time is constrained, I don't play or even consider playing games that could in anyway have a negative impact. 
• Not to discredit "parental spot-checks," but I personally respected the trust my parents enlisted in me. 
• 53 hours on entertainment each week sounds horrible. If people took those 53 hours and developed a talent or skill, just imagine what the world could accomplish. I probably spend 53 hours or more a week, but about 90% of my time is spent preparing a future for myself.

Thursday Mar. 26

• the article stated that it took a random sample through phone polling. If I've learned anything from statistic 101 it is that phone surveys carry heavy bias in their results. Which frustrates the validity of the results. 
• What is the standard of measurement of a "major impact"? The article isn't clear on this. This again makes the results difficult to follow. 
• The power of information is incredible. The recent Sony attack is an example of how damaging information leaks can be. 
• Sexting is an interesting addition to the worlds culture. No matter the advancement in technology, people are always looking to fill their appetites by making sex a part of it.

Tuesday Mar. 31

• the article The Church and Computers: Using the Tools the Lord has provided was a nice breathe  of fresh air. Whenever computer use is brought up in a church setting 99% of the time pornography is mentioned. It was nice to hear more about their benefits and less about their harm. 
• The redesign of Mormon.org in recent years is a risky bid, because some members may post harmful information despite having good intentions. However, I believe this is minimal and I feel the use of peer to peer is effective.
• Computers, "If we don't use them to teach his gospel, Satan will use them to lead the people astray" (Elder Packer). This inspired me to maybe let my testimony be heard by starting a blog or simple post on various sites. We never know the good we could have. 

Post 3

     The ongoing internal battle that individuals have to overcome once inflicted with an addiction, can be a frustrating pursuit. This is exemplified in the Ensign article Tangled in the Web. The best measure of fighting an addiction is to never develop one. Yet, through curiosity or just unlucky stumbling across the web, one may find themselves encompassed in a net. Such addictions maybe the result of an unhealthy amount of time on a social network, or more commonly, a lure towards pornography. The boldness of our recent guest speaker Charles Knutson was a refreshing reminder of the plague that pornography has had with the growth of the internet. As he pointed out, it is within reason to assume that most individuals in class, if not all individuals, have seen or still currently see pornographic material. This causes a stirring question, if everyone is doing it, is it normal? Regardless, what the world agrees as acceptable, it does not mean that it should be acceptable to us. If an addiction is taking control of one's life, take life back by getting help. Everyone has his or her own shortcomings, some more visible than others, but everyone has a divine potential that he  she can reach if not hindered by an addiction.

Study Journal 5

Thursday Mar.5

• It's a frightening thought that such a fundamental financial  instrument such as the stock market can be exploited. Everyone invests in the stock market, most putting their live savings in. It would be tragic to lose it due to the inside knowledge others may have about certain stocks.
• Taking a company public before they are even profitable sounds like the climatic plot in a horror movie. This is is utter non-sense. One might as well fabricate the very existence of a company and list it for an IPO. 
•  "Venture capital is the definition of greed". I resent this statement because it groups all venture capitalist together with the label of selfishness. I hope to be financially well off enough to fulfill the role of a venture capitalist. I'm more about the vision, but I admit the money is a good perk.  
• The very corruption that is brought on by greed does effect the market and people who invest. So much so that it could lead us into a recession or a depression after a market crash due to bad stocks.

Tuesday Mar.10

• The trade off that comes with new technology made me think of all the times I've tried to have an intelligent, personal, conversation with a girlfriend only to have her face buried in her stupid cell phone.
• The author of postman is a bit pessimistic concerning trade offs  He is valid in assuming that such trade offs exist, but if new advances in technology where really that bad, then we would do away with them.I believe the world is better off today in regards to living a comfortable life than it ever has been. 
• The example of a blacksmith losing his job due to the inventions of the automobile, may arguably be someone who was harmed by advances in technology. However, automobile manufacturing created numerous jobs, from the factory worker to the road construction workers.
• Why can't we solve the world problems if we have all the information to do so? There are many lurking variables to this question, but I do believe that the world has the means and knowledge to solve or at least make the an accurate solution to world problems like finding a home for the homeless.
• The amount of bias the author holds is extremely frustrating to me. He makes some valid points, but more often than not his foot ends up in his mouth because he leans so far to one side without approaching potential positives of the other side.

Thursday Mar.12

• I have heard that people become so engrossed by aspects on the internet (besides pornography) that they spend a disproportional amount of there day on the computer. It reminds me of myself, but most my time is not on the internet, but programming. How frustrating!
• The ideal behind temptation being a funnel was pleasantly logical. Once in, it is difficult to get out, but certainly not impossible. Everyone falls in once in a while, the trick is not rebounding. 
• If I knew that creating something as simple as a website could have a drastic detrimental impact, but provide more good than bad, I would proceed. I tend to follow the form of pleasing the majority over the minority. This made me think of my website I'm currently creating,  a lot of good with the potential of a lot of bad. However, it is the users agency, not mine. 
• I also wanted to point out that I liked how blunt the guest speaker was. He made solid points about pornography and did not deny that most people have or had a problem with its enticing lure.  

Current Event Post 3

            When the newest technologies are released to the public, it is met with excitement and curiosity. One does not generally associate new technology as something that could be potentially hazardous or disadvantageous. Such an idea is mocked in big budget Hollywood films such as Terminator or The Matrix. However, the article makes one of the boldest of claims, namely that technology is consuming jobs as stated, "machines automate processes and do the work of 10 people with one computer". A valid point and at first glance a rather frightening perceptive. However, fields in technology are some of the highest in demand and are expecting to see a surge in job openings through 2020. In other words, there is more a demand than there is a supply of people to fulfill the jobs. Yet, one should not dismiss the assumption that more jobs could be available if not for the disadvantage of technology. Perhaps the only solution is for individuals to chase the surplus market of opening positions or for society to advance so far in technology that the machines do everything for the people.It doesn't seem practical to accept the Wall-E scenario of allowing the machines to run everyone's lives, therefore one should learn technology in a manner as one may learn how to walk or write.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-technology-advances-12579.html

Study Journal 4

Thursday Feb. 19

• How reliable is the information on Wikileaks? The article pointed out that individuals come forward with information, so it is within reason to believe that a fair percentage of what is available is inaccurate. I still feel it serves no better purpose than gossip magazines. 
• Unless national security is threatened, Wikileaks should be able to publicly post what they want. The governments of the world have a lot to hide and it is nice to see a resource that is making them sweat. 
• The idea of the NSA collecting phone calls and email metadata seems like an inordinate amount of wasted time. Unless, it has proven profitable to national security, I feel it was a wasted effort and wasted taxpaying dollars. 
• NSA intrusion in the lives of Americans should be the evidence needed that the government doesn't trust it's civilians, thus why should it's civilians trust the government.

Tuesday Feb. 24

• The fact that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange life is being threatened seems to verify my question from last Thursday. Why would anyone want him dead if the information wasn't a valid hazard to them? Information can be a powerful tool, so much so that people can lose their life over it.  
• Hacktivism is a liberal approach to what should be available to the public via the internet. I don't see anything wrong with posting anything online as long as it doesn't directly impact my friends or myself. Personally I am content with the distraction Youtube provides me, therefore I don't need classified government documents to cloud my mind with conspiracy theories.
• I have noticed that most individuals have expressed aggravation in one way or another directed towards our national government. It is impossible to please everyone, but I would think the aim of the government would be to support the majority in one way or another. I don't think the NSA secretly monitoring our emails is helping to restore trust in the people.

Thursday Feb.26

• I have regularly used an NDA form in discussing potential start-up opportunities. However, in class it was brought up that they are difficult to enforce. Regardless, I'm assuming that an NDA agreement can serve as a potential threat to filing suit against someone if they break the contract. 
• The ethical dilemma of people buying up patents just to sell or lease them should not be tolerated. I believe that this demotivates people who want to create, invent, or start something. It is similar to a pain that I feel when trying to secure a domain name that is for sell for a non-sense price. 
• The debate over exact obedience in my view can in someways be more harmful than good. For instances, many people fall out of character and become robotic when they pursue exact obedience. It also can damage someones self-esteem when they fall short. 

Tuesday Mar. 3

• The image of the FBI agent that was arrested for selling information, really put things into perspective. For some people loyalty and integrity means less than money. Yet, he was caught and it seems that even the wisest criminal eventually ends up behind bars.
•  Economic espionage doesn't benefit anyone except for the individual or company that is responsible for the assault. As an app developer, I have to be cautious of people that may try to ripoff the unique games I create, for their own personal gain.
•  A few decades ago, thief relied on taking a physical object, where today it encompasses the very ideas we have. The redefinition of what a "thief" is, provides more liberty for people to create.What it means to "steal" has evolved and could potentially continue to evolve.  

Post 2

        No one should be entitled to anything, especially when someone else is working relentlessly to provide it for someone else. Ezra Taft Benson's political stance in his talk A Vision and a Hope for the Youth of Zion takes an unpopular stance by comparing socialism to welfare. It is ironic that the national government thinks they are helping deprived citizens when in reality, they are creating a heavier demand of dependent people. While on the other end of the spectrum, citizens who are financially independent are taxed in heavier brackets. In other words, the harder someone works for success financially, the more the government takes. The article stated that government considers it a "right" for citizens to receive welfare rather than it being a privilege. I feel that it should be a "right" of individuals to contribute to an assisted living program such as welfare, rather than a mandatory ploy to assist some individuals that have no work ethic.  Perhaps, I am embittered towards this ideal of government charity because I study and work tirelessly to provide a better future for my family, not someone else's.

Current Event Post 2

        With the advent of resources and tutorials abundantly gifted by users across the world wide net, it only takes time and patience to learn just about anything, including hacking. Hacking is an increasing problem as the article pointed out, "data breaches have increased roughly fivefold since 2009". Could this be the result of curious individuals who teach themselves how to hack via the internet? In class it was debated whether withholding such information would have promising results. Arguably, it would have a minimal impact since the determined individual would find means of learning desired content in another way. The destructive reason to learn such material is due to ones self interest. The article stated that "theft of intellectual property motivate many of the attacks" and "politically motivated attacks are a growing reality". Stopping the barrage of espionage is inevitable, it is a cancer that is flooding the body of the world. Yet, as the article reemphasizes, hacking is something that can be prepared for and fought against. With that strategy in mind, hopefully within time hacking will be an improbable and frustrating pursuit that will limit the number of breaches. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/us/politics/obama-administration-plans-to-open-center-to-fight-cyberattacks.html?ref=topics&_r=0

Study Journal 3

Tuesday Feb. 10

• Users can become comfortable using a certain API. Therefore if a company copies a similar API (but implements it differently) it can be helpful to the users who can easily adapt to another companies API, but it can harm the original company who built the API. 
• It seems advantageous to use trade secrets over a patent since it requires no registration and no discloser. However, the higher cost of the confidential material leaking may not be worth the precaution of holding a trade secret. 
• As discussed in class, the trade secret of Coca Cola, takes in-depth precautions to secure its recipe. So much so that it seems burdensome to rely on individuals with the trade secret to keep it so. It could lead to ethical problems such as blackmail. 
• It's amusing to think that the very process of taking notes in class hold their own copyright. Still, it is perhaps best to solidify that copyright by mailing a copy of your notes to yourself and not opening the envelope. Thus, it holds its ground in a court of law. 

Post 1

      The debate for free software as opposed to proprietary software is an ongoing ethical conflict to this day. With the abundance of free software others can readily learn and more importantly, contribute their own code to the neighborly community. This can potentially help further people in their pursuits to develop better technology to make the everyday working individuals life that much easier. Still, in order to afford the comfortable necessities of life, one must make an adequate income to do so. Therefore, proprietary software is essential. It leads to the foundation of large structured enterprises which contribute largely to the economy. Yet, it restricts the independent developer whose curiosity hungers for the intuition that a companies software provides. In conclusion, it is within reason to agree with both standings.The development of software is an arduous, tedious, task that essentially takes a special mindset to master. Even so, it is impossible to learn it all. Thus, a community of support and free software is the initial formula for one to prepare for opportunities to make money(proprietary software) from their own developmental talents. Such as the self-reliant  programmer who uses free software to learn the required knowledge to build a tech company.

Study Journal 2

Thursday Jan.22

• "Greed was good" (Triumph of the Nerds, Part I).What a sinister view, assigning an attribute normally associated with bad to good. Allow me to revise, "Success was good." 
• There was speculation in class on the real intent of Steve Jobs admitting "It wasn't for the money". Regardless, money should always be a perk of starting a company, not the chief endeavor. However, it has stricken the strongest of individuals to its enticing influence. 
•  The ideal of programming for fun has never fit in the specification of "excitement" for me. Still it started with these hobbyist who enjoyed tinkering with software in order to build a computer and its accompanying apps. Surely anyone can appreciate their contribution. 

Tuesday Jan.27

• Gates was viewed as a cult leader (Triumph of the Nerds, Part II). A larger than life individual which is a caution indicated in the "Seven signs of ethical Collapse". Still, Gates has no control over how people view him and I'm sure he probably welcomed the admiration on his behalf. 
• Apples attack on IBM in their famous 1984 commercial is the start of their further aggression seen elsewhere, such as the "I'm a mac, I'm a PC"  commercials. They are relentless in their pursuit to discredit competitors much in the way a politician would towards an opponent candidate.  
• Just to point out, I found the videos title to be a bit of jab at those presented in the film. Nerds is a term given by someone who lacks the self-esteem and self-respect to advance their own state of being. 

Thursday Jan.29

• Job's caustic remarks about Microsoft stealing their ideals was hypocritical of Apple stealing the GUI from Xerox. He further buries himself by stating that he was "shameless about stealing great ideas". If it wasn't for the borrowing or stealing that major tech companies such as Apple or Microsoft had deviously done then who knows if we would have the the sophisticated technology the world knows and loves today. 
• The stubbornness of Jobs to pay no attention to the initial failure of the apple II was a bit startling. I find no admiration in this. One must take notice and prepare in accordance to meet the needs of the situation. Ego can be a destructive tool that inflicts everyone. 
• "Being right vs. success"(Triumph of the Nerds, Part III) implies taking one or the other. I don't really see why both can't be used to compliment each other. Unless the quote follows along the line that doing the wrong thing is the way to be successful. In which case it is never right to do the wrong thing. 

Tuesday Feb.3

• the film Revolution OS, loss much of it's credibility when it villainized Bill Gates. Gates is a respected forefather to much of the technology we have today and it was apparent the film held a bit of bias against Microsoft and others that did not support free-software.
• I stand considerable in the direction of having proprietary software. Although it is quite helpful to have free software available, it is even more so advantageous to use it as a means to make money. As such companies can expand, provide jobs, and grow the economy. 
•  After reviewing The Free Software Definition, the question I find myself asking is "what if"? Would the world be that much further ahead if software was free? 
• From the film, I felt the attempt of the social movement of free software was admirable, but also laughable. Namely because their means of income was from support through the use of Linux. There has to be a more profitable way to benefit everyone. However, I do not have the solution.

Thursday Feb.5

• I do find the lengthy Free Software license to be a clever way to thwart someone from stealing and patenting software written by others. It is helpful that a community of programmers are readily available to assist and even write most of the code that one might need for software. 
• The philosophical standing of Open Source seems like a more practical approach to the war on proprietary software. It contributes in part to the Free Software movement while at the same time holding a portion of the software as proprietary. Is this a plausible solution to Tuesdays response? Regardless, it meets the needs of both sides so it arguable a step in the right direction. 
• The on going war between the various companies has come down to a very important element, the software and apps on their machines. Today the world is flooded by such applications, such as finding a calculator app that does just about every mathematical operation possible in order to be superior to other similar apps. 

Current Events Post 1

          In class we have discussed matters in which a situation could lead to an ethical dilemma. We point out the warning signs and potential ways to avoid such positions of dishonest integrity. However, this article illuminates the flip side of that coin, namely, that being ethical can come with its own challenges. Unfortunately, sometimes standing on a higher plain than others may lead to a king of the hill battle in which ethical offenders seek not the hill, but to drag the one upon it down with them. Despite, the internal and external struggles that may befall someone with high ethical standards, I firmly believe we must stand firm in our morals. I follow the articles conclusion in my own words "It's never wrong to do the right thing".
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/s-l-young/unexpected-cost-of-ethica_b_6027034.html

Study Journal 1

 Thursday Jan. 15

• As indicated by most of the students in class, I was rather perplexed at the reasoning behind Take this Fish and Look at it. Had I been the student in training and ordered to stare at fish for countless hours I would of undoubtedly been furious that my time was wasted as so. Thus, the lesson presented in the story would notof worked for everyone and I am evident of that.
• The claim that it is easy to produce software as stated in The Five Orders of Ignorance, is a varied perspective from what most people would think.However, I like how it points out the process of learning "how" is the hard part. Regardless, whether it is easier to learn or produce it is a matter of perspective. Therefore, it is likely that one or the other or perhaps both will be hard or easy depending on the individual.
• "Technology builds upon itself"(Professor Dougal). I captured this in class and felt appreciative that the ability for me to start my business is in part to all the people that continue to contribute to the growing and endless field of technology. For instances, my website I'm producing is possible because of the community that provides tutorials, IDE, etc. As such, I hope to place another block upon that tower.

Tuesday Jan. 20

• Dallin H. Oaks talk, Focus and Priorities, was a powerful reminder of how precious time is. For good or evil, ones time can be used. Time, is there a more precious asset? His talk helped me to realize that I need to refocus myself. 
• Time and Time again have I seen from others and I myself, have personally experienced the edgy sword of offense that David A. Bednar mentioned in his talk And Nothing Shall Offend Them. It is interesting how a simple offense from another can tear us away from the person who Loves us most, God.
• "...The Spirit constraineth me..."Alma 14: 11. I believe this is one of the most important verses in all of scriptural text. Namely, it teaches us that bad things can and will happen even to the loyalist of disciples.Yet it is all for the intent and purposes of God.