Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example

Computer sciences and Information technology Application Software comparisons Web applications can be easily accessible free of cost to anybody who has a computer and internet connection. It is not necessary to install web applications in computer hard disks to use it. On the other hand, application software needs to be purchased and installed in the computer hard disks before some body can use it. For example, Microsoft recently released MS word 2010. Even the MS word users who have 2007 version with them should spend additional money to purchase the 2010 version. On the other hand, web applications like Google Docs and its updates are always available to the users free of cost. However, web applications lack security which means for doing highly confidential work, application software is always better than web applications. Moreover, web based applications are shared by a number of users and therefore the system loading speeds at a particular moment may depend on the number of users at that moment. Web applications require internet connection and it is impossible to work on web applications while internet connection problems are there. On the other hand, normal software may not have such problems loading speed problems or internet connection problems. I recommend normal software to my company since normal software provides more flexibility to the users and it is difficult for a company to rely fully on web applications for executing its functions because of the safety, loading speed and internet related problems. 2. Mac vs. PC. Mac computers start always faster than PC’s and it opens the files faster than PC’s. Web pages also open faster in Mac computers than in PC’s. Mac computer make use of Motorola processors which are superior in performance than the Intel processors used in the PC’s. Even though no additional or specific features were incorporated to Mac computers, it blocks many of the virus and malware security threats more effectively than PC’s. However, Mac computers are slightly costlier than PC’s. The major advantage of using PC is that most of the application software developed in the world are compatible with PC’s whereas some application software may not run well on Mac computers. For desktop publishing works, Mac computers are preferred worldwide because of its superior image handling abilities whereas PC’s are preferred because of its better software compatibility. In short, performance-wise and operational-wise, Mac computers are superior to PC’s even though it is slightly expensive. I would advise Universal Computing to purchase both Mac and PC’s based on the nature of works in each department. 3. Ethics in Action Privacy is a hotly debated topic in the world at present. There are many cases, in which the security agencies monitor the private communications between people. They are doing so for the national interests or for avoiding security threats. The threats from the terrorists are increasing day by day and all communication mediums including electronic media are used by the terrorists. Many of the countries like China, Pakistan, America etc are believed to be engaged in undeclared Cyber-attacks. It is impossible to counter cyber-attacks without censoring the information passed through internet. Under such circumstances, nobody can blame the security agencies if they monitor private messages. Security is more important than privacy in my opinion. The loss of privacy of some people can save the lives of thousands of people and monitoring of communication channels can be ethically justified in that sense. 4. Should the government require that all Web sites meet the W3C accessibility guidelines? It is not necessary that all web sites meet the W3C accessibility guidelines. For example, it is difficult to implement W3C accessibility guidelines to Web sites hosted by disability organizations since these guidelines can cause more barriers in front of the disabled people in accessing web pages. Websites which are designed properly can be handled equally well by all the people irrespective of their abilities. However, the HTML or XML language introduced as part of W3C accessibility guidelines cannot be handled by disabled people or people who do not have much expertise on these languages. So governmental control enforced upon of web pages through W3C accessibility guidelines may prevent some people from using internet or webpages. The intentions of the government would be positive; however, it is difficult for the government to implement legislatures asking all the Web sites to meet the W3C accessibility guidelines, when we consider the fact that such regulations may deprive some people, the opportunity to use web pages. 5. Should the government require that hard disks on sold, donated, or discarded computers be cleaned, encrypted, or destroyed? Why or why not? The government should ensure that the hard disks sold, donated or discarded must be cleaned encrypted, or destroyed because of the possibility of such disks reaching the hands of antisocial elements. Even unimportant information stored in the hard disks can be misused by antisocial elements in different manner. Current criminals have smarter brains than the government and they may make use of the retrieved data from the discarded hard disks one way or other. Even the data which appeared harmless to the government on discarded disks may help the criminals in different ways. So I will definitely try to clean or encrypt the contents of hard disks before selling or disposing it. 6. Should the government tax media download, such as music, video, e-books, newspaper articles, and magazine articles? The government should tax the media downloads, such as music, video, e-books, newspaper articles, and magazine articles since these things may come under the intellectual properties. These things are developed by some individuals using the governmental resources or natural resources which are equally owned by the public. Digital content delivery is a business now and it is not a service. Tax imposed on digital content delivery may help the government to use collect some money from such profit making businesses in return to the community resources used. 7. Would you use your neighbor's unsecured wireless home network? Why or why not? I will never use my neighbor’s unsecured wireless home network. If I use such networks, my computers or systems may also become vulnerable to whatever the security threats and virus attacks faced by my neighbor’s systems. Moreover, my neighbor can easily take any information or data from my computer and misuse it for his personal gains. If I found someone using my wireless home network, I will definitely enhance or strengthen the security features of my computer in order to block him from using my network. If I use a password to my router, my neighbor may not be able to make use of my network connection without my permission. Both the violators and the victims should be punished in order to make people more aware about the consequences of using or allowing others to use unsecured home networks. 8. Do Internet databases mean the end of privacy? It is logical to accept that Internet databases mean the end of privacy since most of the technologies used to monitor activities of another person can't be detected and removed by the person being monitored. In other words, most of our activities in internet can be easily accessible to expert computer professionals. Moreover, it is difficult for us to use internet and computers, keeping our private information secure. Lots of personal data are asked while installing application software, surfing some websites etc and without providing such data we cannot use computers and internet more effectively. People often provide false personal data while using computers and internet in order to keep their privacy. For example, while installing a software or downloading a file, people often provide wrong emails to conserve their privacy. Read More