Intellectual Property Rights of pictures, videos, and music

I do not think that there is much that can be done to protect the intellectual property rights of the people who create pictures, videos, and music. Many video and music sharing sites have been shut down due to their sharing of video and audio files; however, when one site shuts down, another simply starts up. With that being said, I think that we must all take it upon ourselves to get others to realize that someone else put a lot of hard work and effort into these projects. However, if someone is selling the intellectual property of another person for profit, this could be classified as fraud and would then involve police action and lawsuits. As long as people are only using the intellectual property of others for their own enjoyment and not claiming it to be their own work, I do not see much of a problem with it.

I think that it is acceptable to copy sounds or images for use in your own work when you cite the work. This shows that you did not in fact create the pictures, videos, or music. It also shows that you are giving credit to the person or people who actually did create it. Scanners, video digitizers, and audio digitizers are all tools which are there to help us share our work with others. As long as people give credit to the original composer I do not see why there should be a problem with using these files which have been put out there for the world to see and hear.

Online Shopping

Online shopping can be a very convenient, easy, and quick way to shop for the things that we need or want. However, we must be careful when shopping online as there are many people and companies out there who are looking to take advantage of vulnerable consumers.

I have purchased many things online and have always had a positive experience. I have shopped for clothing, beauty products, and facial cleansers among other things. Many of the things that I shop for online can't be found in any stores, or else the stores are located in large cities far away from La Ronge. It makes sense to simply purchase products from the online stores as it would be much more costly to travel to these stores. Even if I was to travel to the store, perhaps they would be out of stock of the products which I was looking for. I am a large supporter of online shopping as it makes products accessible anyone with internet access.

When I do my online shopping I use my credit card. At first I was somewhat nervous about giving my credit card information, however, all of the sites that I have used are trustworthy and have never ripped me off. I have used sites such as Ebay, muradcanada.com (facial cleansing products),  kijiji.ca, bathandbodyworks.com (beauty products), and many more.

While I am a supporter of online shopping, I do not think that we should make large, important purchases online. This would include things such as vehicles, rare collectibles, sports memoribilia, and expensive entertainment equipment. It is easy for people to lie about their product online, and say that there is nothing wrong with it, or that it is "authentic."
However, we cannot be sure of this until we actually recieve the product. Vehicles may have mechanical problems, collectibles and memoribilia may be fake, and entertainment equipment might have problems. These are all products that we should "try before we buy." There is no guarantee that the product will arrive to you the way that you expect. For this reason, I only shop for things online that I know cannot have defects, or that come from legitimate online businesses.

Law Enforcement Sharing Info

There are both advantages and disadvantages to law-abiding citizens when law enforcement agencies share the information in their databases.

One advantage is that it makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to catch criminals who may have offended in several different states or provinces. This helps to protect law-abiding citizens from criminals. DNA databases are now used by law enforcement agencies to match criminals to crimes when DNA has been left behind.
Another advantage to this sharing of information is that law enforcement agencies can warn people when potentially dangerous people enter their communities. The Sex Offender's Registry is an example of this. When a sex offender moves into a community, law enforcement officials will warn the people in that community of the potential danger. This is a definite advantage to law-abiding citizens as it helps to give them peace of mind.


One disadvantage to this sharing of information is that the police will have information on everyone, even law-abiding citizens. This information could include your name, address, age, phone number, etc. If someone hacked into this database, they would gain access to all of your information. They could then use this information however they please. This could include sending junk mail to you, forwarding your information to others, phoning your home to sell you something. When it comes to computerized systems, there is no guarantee that they are 100% secure.

Word Processing

I think that word processing has reduced the quality of writing because people now think that as long as their document looks professional and well-written that it must be good. People have lost focus when it comes to what they are writing because they are more focused on how the document looks.

It is easy to access templates online and simply plug in data; however, if your writing is not of high quality, then it doesn't really matter how nice it looks. The writing process should be considered more important than how the end product appears because no one wants to read something just because it looks nice, they want to read it because it is insightful and interesting.

Throughout the years at NORTEP/NORPAC, many of my professors have encouraged me to write based on my own thoughts and feelings. They do not want to simply see basic information written on a page that can be found virtually anywhere. This is not interesting to them, and will certainly not garner high marks. I am also aware that although word processor can be used as a great tool during the writing process, that it is not foolproof. Just like any other program it can have its own problems. Since word processor tries to automatically format your text, it may set it up in a way that you do not want. The spelling of words in word processor is also based on the American format. Therefore, word processor may tell you that a word is spelt wrong, when in fact it is not. When using word processor, one must be aware that it can make mistakes, and that a nice looking final product, may not actually be a good product.

"Computers don't make mistakes, people do"

I must agree with the statement, "Computers don't make mistakes, people do." Computers simply follow the steps they are given, and it is people who input this information. If a computer does not complete a task, it is not due to any fault of its own, it is because a person has not given it proper direction. When we learned all of the steps in using xhtml there were many areas where people could make errors. If we forgot to put a closing tag such as </p> following text in a paragraph, none of that text would appear. If we spelt anything wrong, forgot quotation marks, put something in the wrong order, or typed in a command improperly, the computer could not output the information we wanted it to. There are rules that we must follow in order to get the proper output information from a computer. When people make mistakes, a computer cannot decipher what it is we are trying to get it to do. However, computers can actually SHOW us where we have made a mistake. This shows us that while computers cannot perform tasks when people make mistakes, they can help us to correct these mistakes to get the proper output.
When people follow the proper steps and procedures, we can get computers to give us the output information we are seeking.

Computer Industry & The Preservation of Global Ecosystems

I think that the computer industry has more of a negative effect on preserving global ecosystems. When it comes down to it, we are very much a "throw-away society." When something better comes along, we are keen to simply throw away our old items to make way for the new. Since computer technology is constantly changing and improving, many people are throwing away their old monitors, televisions, modems, printers, scanners, cameras, and virtually everything associated with computer technology to make way for the new. While there may be disposal sites for these items, people do not want to take the time to dispose of this equipment properly (just like many people don't take the time to recycle other materials).
Since there is no immediate benefit (such as cash) for the consumer to properly dispose of their older computers and equipment, they simply throw it away.. regardless of the negative effects this may have on our ecosystems.

People need to be properly informed of the damage they are causing to the environment when they improperly dispose of computer equipment. This material is not biodegradeable and therefore will not break down for many years, if ever.

There are many ways that we can all take steps to be a "greener," environmentally conscious computer users. I spend lots of my spare time simply surfing the internet on social media sites, online shopping sites, and basically just anything that I find interesting. This is an unnecessary activity which uses up electricity simply for my own entertainment. I could spend more of my leisure time outside, studying, reading a book, or just visiting with friends, rather than spending it on the internet or watching television. I could also make sure to turn the computer off everytime I am done with it, as I don't always do this. I could also make sure that I properly dispose of computer equipment when I am done with it, or better yet, give it to someone else who will make use of it and appreciate it. There are many small things that we can all do to be "greener" computer users.

The Digital Divide

I believe that there is a digital divide in Canada. There are many people who do not have access to new technologies that are constantly emerging. This is due to both generational gaps and income levels.
The largest contributor to the digital divide, in my opinion, is the internet. The internet started in North America and continues to grow the fastest here and in Europe. If the United States has a digital divide, then Canada undoubtedly has one too. My grandparents have no idea how to use the internet as they don't even understand what it is. While the internet impacts my life on a daily basis, it virtually doesn't exist in their world. My parents have an understanding about the internet and computer technology, however, they are constantly asking me how to use certain programs. Social media has contributed greatly to the digital divide as teenagers and young adults have become addicted programs such as this. Face-to-face interaction is becoming less common as people can apply for jobs online, do their banking online, and connect with friends and family online. Even though we refer to sites such as Facebook as social media, they are actually making our society less and less social.


If people don't have access to technology, such as the internet, they are missing out on many things in life.
In some cases, the internet is the only avenue to find new jobs, find a date, or order certain products. Clearly there are many people in Canada who are missing out on opportunities in life due to being the "have-nots" of the Digital Divide. 


In order to change the Digital Divide, we must be willing to help older generations, such as my grandparents, understand new technologies which are emerging. Schools could offer free programs to those without access to computers once a week in order to help them understand new technologies. There is no easy solution to the Digital Divide, however, if we all attempt to help out the "have-nots" we will start to see the divide begin to narrow.