Web 2.0 Example

One example of a Web 2.0 website: Youtube
www.youtube.com
 Why is it Web 2.0?
It allows many users to post their videos.  Other users see them, respond to them in comments, and post their own videos.
Users: over a billion
Social and Ethical Issues: Equality of Access (everyone has same access to videos), Privacy and Anonymity (people can anonymously post harmful content), Intellectual Property (use of upload/download to pirate movies and music)
Areas of Impact: All of them.  There may be videos on any topic pertaining to one or many different areas.  For example, a science demo like we watched in chemistry last year is Education, Science, and possibly Health ad Entertainment depending on the topic.

Computer Hardware Assignment

Part	Part	HP Cost	Custom Link	Custom Cost
Case	(HP standard)		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023	50
Power	250 Watt		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103047	150
Motherboard	(HP standard)		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128515	115
CPU	AMD Phenom X4 2.9 GHz		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808	120
RAM	8 GB DDR3-800MHZ		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313080	67
Hard Drive	750 GB 7200 RPM SATA		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148764&cm_sp=Cat_Hard_Drives-_-Spotlight-_-22-148-764	55
Graphics Card	1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon 6450		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934	70
CD/DVD	SuperMulti DVD		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276	18
Keyboard	HP		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126197	20
Mouse	HP		http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126197	0
Total		759.99		665
Link to HP computer page
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto.do#

Microsoft, Comcast try to bridge the Digital Divide

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/faster-forward/post/microsoft-comcast-try-to-bridge-the-digital-divide/2011/09/20/gIQAbfLziK_blog.html

Microsoft and Comcast are beginning attempts to bridge the "digital divide", the gap between people who can afford technology and people who can't, through programs to make technology more affordable and accessible. 
Stakeholders:  low-income households, technology companies, schools
Main social issue is equality of access, which pertains to making sure that everyone has access to the same technology.
Areas of Impact: Education (computers for students), Politics and Government (laws to make more of these programs, support/fight programs)
My opinion:  It is a good thing that companies are making an effort to allow access to technology by everyone.  The position that the government should not interfere because people/nature/social evolution should take its course does not work when there are resources required for success that are denied to a group by outside circumstances.  The government should back these programs by rewarding companies that do these programs and penalizing those that do not.

Did You Know 4.0

1. What 3 things surprise you?    It surprised me that so much of the world had cell phones, how many people visit Facebook, Youtube, and the like each month, and that in 25 years we will have blood-cell sized phones.
2. What questions come to your mind? What else will change?  Will we all have phones in a few years?
3. What do you think the world will be like 5 years from now? 10? 20?  I think that in 5 years, the world will be very much the same except that everyone will have phones.  10 years will not make much of a difference.  20 years, however, and we will probably have computers that can think for themselves and do most of what humans can do.
4. What kind of effects do you think that this will have on people?  Humans will either adapt to the new technology and get better at using it or fall by the wayside.  There is also the small chance that, as the technology of warfare advances, we manage to destroy ourselves utterly, but this is unlikely.