Cole W. Camplese

And I Thought We Only Picked Pop Singers This Way ...

Wow, really interesting article over at Zogby International talking about how they did the first mobile phone poll to see whom people are going to vote for. In an obvious nod to the incredibly (and inexplicably) popular American Idol pop candy show, the folks over at Zogby finally figured out that there is a huge group of people who don't answer their land line phones anymore -- and, surprise, they are young and liberals! Oh by the way, this isn't a politically motivated post, just an opportunity to point out to you that the times really are a changin'. Stop over and take a look ... here's a little quote:

"Mr. Zogby went on to note that Zogby International plans to explore future text-message surveys in response to concerns throughout the polling industry about reaching mobile telephone users. He added that text-messaging has become an important tool for political activists on both sides of the political spectrum, and Zogby International will be at the forefront of technology shifts that affect polling."

No shit ... What do you think?

Discussion Activity 08

Ok, I know, I know ... I am REALLY late with the DA for this week. I'll make it up to you though. How, you ask? Well, how about this ... NO DA NEXT WEEK! You turn this one in by end of next week and you get 20 points for it. Now, there are some rules associated with this one ... I am interested in you all going above and beyond, so I am adding a few wrinkles to the mix. Read on ...

What I want you to do is complete the DA in typical fashion by posting your comments here in the Class Blog, but as you'll notice this DA is asking for a report ... what does that mean? Well, look at it this way, I am counting this twice, so it should be well thought out, creative, and follow all the guidelines below. Take your time and do this well ... one point to consider, you may want to think outside of the examples provided. First of all, everyone in the class will do a MAC machine ... and second, the examples are well-understood systems. Try to think of some other types of interfaces people are faced with on a regular basis -- look in the HUB, at the gas station, the grocery store, and all sorts of places.

I'm not going to do an overview of the topic -- I expect you are reading!

Discussion Activity

Conduct a real-world observation of people using a system such as an ATM machine, Lion Cash machine, or Swipe card machine for doors. Write a report describing the system. Make sure to include a description of the interface, the functions of the system, the social environment of system, and your observations of people using the system. Observe for 30 minutes, but do not talk to the users. You should only make observations. Be sure not to jeopardize users' security by observing too closely.

Design is hard

Today in class (slides are here) we looked at some interface design principles. Design principles help guide you when creating a software interface or web site. Problems arise because principles are just guides; they are not rules. This means that you still have to make decisions about the thing you are designing while you are designing it, and then try to figure out whether or not it looks good and is functional. For example, you could add objects to your interface in a symmetrical fashion, but that might impede information flow.

Your best bet when designing the interface for your solution, and your website in (week 13), is to create 3 designs and show them to people to critique. You can prototype your design in Dreamweaver or Powerpoint, both of which are on the Macs in our classroom.

Once you have a satisfactory design, then you can build your website. For the project, you can add the designed prototype to your final delivery. If anyone wants critique on a design, then I am happy to do so. But I will only do this in person, so catch me at the end of a Thursday class or in my office hour.

We also looked at some bad designs. You were all pretty good at seeing where the bad designs I showed in class went wrong. You can see the bad designs from class at the interface hall of shame.

How do you know when you see a interface good design? Do you have to interact with it first? What if the interface is ugly, but functional? Is it still a good design?

The New iPod Photo

So Apple came out with the long rumored iPod Photo yesterday ... I, like all the other Mac folks out here were reading about the features well before it was announced and you know, until I really saw it and started to look at its specifications and features, I thought "whatever." Then, when I saw how Apple actually pulled it off, kept the form factor close to the same and how it really works I started to think about how powerful an academic (and business) tool this thing can be.

I do a lot of traveling and I am always giving presentations ... sometimes my trips take my across the country, but at the same time a lot of them are on campus, are day trips around the state, or other "down and back" endeavors. For the long distance, multi-day trips I would never consider leaving my 12" PowerBook at home -- it’s just too much a part of the whole travel experience (digital photos, email, music, web, DVD, etc). But, with this new iPod Photo, I can see instances where that's all I have to take with me to do my presentations. I use Keynote as my presentation software -- simply because it is so much better than PowerPoint ... I need to look at it more, but I could see myself pulling jpegs of all my key slides for my presentations and simply run them via the iPod Photo ... my pictures, my music, & my presentations all running from this little device that fits in my pocket. If you can do “On-the-Go” photo “playlists” then I could quickly assemble presentations from a whole slew of key slides I use. Cool.

I also read you can sync slideshows to audio ... I have been playing with the whole podcasting thing for a couple of weeks now ... I've even gotten it figured out how to route voice, music, iChat, and really anything else into an iPod for recording ... my colleague, Bart Pursel and I are going to start a (maybe) weekly podcast this week or next, so stay tuned for that. Anyway, back to the idea ... if I can exert some influence via my role in the Apple Digital Campus, I am going to push for a simple authoring tool to allow everyday people to create podcasts that can be synced with images -- think digital photos, presentation slides, maps, or anything else that is graphical in nature. These little iPod Podcast Presentations could be wrapped up and served via a RSS enclosure so they could be delivered to your audience as often as you want -- all automatically in portable way. I've done research with HP about doing these types of things with the Pocket PC, but the results were less than perfect -- the devices just couldn't hold their own and had too many features to be easy to use.

It would be great to have all my students using an iPod Photo -- like the Duke project on steroids -- so I could build short interactive iPod Podcast Presentations to cover all sorts of supplemental material. Let alone the commercial applications -- Museum tours, city tours, University tours, just in time training applications -- imagine if you are a network system support person and can't remember how to repair a bad switch and you could pull up, on the spot, and interactive guide on the iPod Photo! Lots of cool applications there!

All in all, I am more impressed with the device than I thought I would be -- almost surely because I like just about anything Apple does, but this one has some real potential outside of its intended purpose. When you combine this with the One-Click Assessment concept I've blogged about before, the iPod is shaping up to be a hidden jewel for technology integration in the classroom ... I still agree with Steve Jobs that a portable video device isn't what people want, but I bet if they came out with one I would (a) buy one, and (b) think ways to use it beyond watching illegally downloaded movies from Bit Torrent -- not that I do that. And yes, I did buy one yesterday -- all 60 GB of it. When it gets here, I'll be taking it apart to see how it can be used to have a larger impact.

New iPod Photo Ideas

This is cross posted from my Learning & Innovation blog site ... I was just curious to see if any of you had comments:

So Apple came out with the long rumored iPod Photo yesterday ... I, like all the other Mac folks out here were reading about the features well before it was announced and you know, until I really saw it and started to look at its specifications and features, I thought "whatever." Then, when I saw how Apple actually pulled it off, kept the form factor close to the same and how it really works I started to think about how powerful an academic (and business) tool this thing can be.

I do a lot of traveling and I am always giving presentations ... sometimes my trips take my across the country, but at the same time a lot of them are on campus, are day trips around the state, or other "down and back" endeavors. For the long distance, multi-day trips I would never consider leaving my 12" PowerBook at home -- it’s just too much a part of the whole travel experience (digital photos, email, music, web, DVD, etc). But, with this new iPod Photo, I can see instances where that's all I have to take with me to do my presentations. I use Keynote as my presentation software -- simply because it is so much better than PowerPoint ... I need to look at it more, but I could see myself pulling jpegs of all my key slides for my presentations and simply run them via the iPod Photo ... my pictures, my music, & my presentations all running from this little device that fits in my pocket. If you can do “On-the-Go” photo “playlists” then I could quickly assemble presentations from a whole slew of key slides I use. Cool.

I also read you can sync slideshows to audio ... I have been playing with the whole podcasting thing for a couple of weeks now ... I've even gotten it figured out how to route voice, music, iChat, and really anything else into an iPod for recording ... my colleague, Bart Pursel and I are going to start a (maybe) weekly podcast this week or next, so stay tuned for that. Anyway, back to the idea ... if I can exert some influence via my role in the Apple Digital Campus, I am going to push for a simple authoring tool to allow everyday people to create podcasts that can be synced with images -- think digital photos, presentation slides, maps, or anything else that is graphical in nature. These little iPod Podcast Presentations could be wrapped up and served via a RSS enclosure so they could be delivered to your audience as often as you want -- all automatically in portable way. I've done research with HP about doing these types of things with the Pocket PC, but the results were less than perfect -- the devices just couldn't hold their own and had too many features to be easy to use.

It would be great to have all my students using an iPod Photo -- like the Duke project on steroids -- so I could build short interactive iPod Podcast Presentations to cover all sorts of supplemental material. Let alone the commercial applications -- Museum tours, city tours, University tours, just in time training applications -- imagine if you are a network system support person and can't remember how to repair a bad switch and you could pull up, on the spot, and interactive guide on the iPod Photo! Lots of cool applications there!

All in all, I am more impressed with the device than I thought I would be -- almost surely because I like just about anything Apple does, but this one has some real potential outside of its intended purpose. When you combine this with the One-Click Assessment concept I've blogged about before, the iPod is shaping up to be a hidden jewel for technology integration in the classroom ... I still agree with Steve Jobs that a portable video device isn't what people want, but I bet if they came out with one I would (a) buy one, and (b) think ways to use it beyond watching illegally downloaded movies from Bit Torrent -- not that I do that. And yes, I did buy one yesterday -- all 60 GB of it. When it gets here, I'll be taking it apart to see how it can be used to have a larger impact.

New File Sharing Stuff

It is really starting to heat up in the legal file sharing space on University campuses ... just read this article about the North Carolina University system pilot testing a new service that may allow students with access to several online music and movie stores. They say a "fee is likely," but I doubt that will make students uptight given they are being told ahead of time. Especially if you consider that students will be able to "opt in" at $2-$5 a month ... If you remember, we had a discussion like this earlier this semester and you all overwhelmingly wanted to know what the real (read hidden) costs of the Napster project are. This seems like a much better approach.

Now, when you are researching your solution, you know of a place that is really attacking this issue -- the North Carolin University state system. I wonder if that could ever happen here in the Commonwealth of PA? I think I know the answer, but would be interested in hearing from you all.

Update 10.25.2004

On the other end of the spectrum ... I just read an article at Wired.com that speaks to the importance of all this ... the article, "Song-Swap Networks Still Humming" claims that, " Peer-to-peer traffic has not declined despite the music industry's aggressive pursuit of illegal file sharers..." Wow, couldn't figure that one out on our own, could we? They go on to link to some great resources you should take a look at and discuss how they measure activity and challenge earlier research that said P2P activity is on the decline. All in all, a good read ... take a look and let us all know what you think!

My Thoughts from Today ' s Guest: Dean Thomas

Dean Thomas discussed the IST program, its roots, and its mission today in class. His main point is that IST prepares leaders for the global digital economy …

Dean Thomas started by talking about that there is a 2 trillion dollars a year investment in technology in the US … top managers in the USA are not seeing the return on investment based on the fact that there are few people who know “how to use the technology to make a difference,” not “how do you do 200 lines of debugged code.” He went on to say that we as educators haven’t trained people to be solution providers – we tend to focus on the technology itself. At IST we look at the interfaces, the social, ethical, policy issues, as well as the drill downs into the basics of technology … we educate students who can engage, defend, and articulate solutions with clients. Employers love that stuff! And oh, by the way so do students … both in their internships and their real jobs!

In relation to outsourcing, Dean Thomas says he hears a lot parents say “outsourcing means there won’t be any jobs out there for my kid …" the dean laughs – he even calls it silly. The stuff that gets outsourced is “production stuff," not problem solving. He goes on to say, that IST students can go into companies and provide a series of competencies that will not be outsourced -- they become strategic advantages.

Let’s boil it down to two main issues that get to the heart of the IST:

1. Can you use technology for competitive distinctions when everyone has the access to the same technology? Yes ... it becomes the people who use the technology to create winning solution.

2. How do you get people to use the technology so it can make a difference? You make them understand that there is more to a solution than the technology -- that solutions are a product of a systems-level perspective.

He also discussed some numbers related to the School -- 98% placement at about $53,000.00 starting salaries -- both the highest rates at Penn State. If you were engaged in consulting (a third of our graduates last year) those salaries went up into the $70,000 and $80,000 range. Check out some of these stats online. As a School, we do huge research initiatives – we’ve done over 24 million in research in the list two years. Check it out.

He discussed several IST faculty member’s research agendas ... really just to give you all a flavor of what is going on here – and how applied it is to the real world. Sort of like your videos! Take a look around the IST website and see what its all about. If any of you have questions for Dean Thomas, you can post them as comments here and I'll make sure he gets them. Thanks for listening and asking such insightful questions.

Discussion Activity 07

Topic 7 is designed to help you understand the value of data and data management tools and how they can be applied. Very little of what we do today as an Information Society would be possible without the massive investment in database tools, techniques, and technologies ... most of the knowledge we come across in our daily lives is stored in some sort of a database structure. Please read topic 7 so you can understand that there are different types of databases for different reasons. I have to say, you cannot solve our challenge without a complete understanding of database technologies -- you just can't do it. Pieces of what you learn in this topic will really allow you to solve it.

The topic begins with an overview of the importance of data. Without data, computers are of little value. The worth of a computer or an information system is measured in terms of its ability to support the processing, transmission and/or accessing of data. In fact, data management can be the key to success or failure for an organization. Many companies run into difficulties because they lack the appropriate data to make effective decisions, and/or the way their databases are constructed inhibits the ability to analyze and manipulate data in a timely, cost-effective manner. It goes on to lay out the basic terminology associated with databases ... this is a critical bunch of information as it really gives you the basics.

From there, it goes on to discuss the characteristics of databases and on to a very importnat lesson related to database management systems. Make sure you finish out your reading as it gets into some fairly complex stuff ... the key here is that databases are the main ingrediant in so much of what you as a knowledge worker will need to know to solve large-scale IT challenges. Don't miss reading this topic! When you finish your reading, respond to the discussion activity below ... and remember, your challenge asks you to decide on a database sytem to power your solution -- the information in this topic should be a starting point for you to do just that.

Discussion Activity

At times, we collect data from our employees, peers, customers, and friends. As knowledge workers, we are expected to sort through data and come up with meaningful information. There are many things that can jeopardize the meaning that we intend to pull from data, especially when data comes from surveys or some type of human-generated information (interviews, reports, journals, or books). The respondents' truthfulness, the quantity of responses, possible bias, and time constraints can lead us to "stories" that might not be valid. Can you think of some other problems that may occur when trying to extract meaningful data? How do you plan to only extract valid and reliable data so as to create meaningful information?

My Thoughts from Today's Guest

Dr. Bagby did a whirlwind overview of the concepts of copyright, P2P, and intellectual property ... here is my reaction to what I heard, with some links to some extras. I really enjoyed it and want you to realize that this is complex stuff and that it is so tied to the future of innovation -- as much as anything else we've talked about.

Urban Legends

The most interesting in my mind of the myths Dr. Bagby spoke of was ... "Things posted on the Internet are free and free to use" ... Where did that myth come from? Interesting topic ... Dr. Bagby claims that the net-newbies felt as though the "net should not be regulated." He went on the say that this is just not true and that the courts will ultimately decide. Because of this attitude, things have moved so far to the other side and that the copyright office and the court insists on DRM ... throwing out the baby with the bathwater, as he was saying. I'd be really interested to know what you guys think about the "free" nature of the Internet ... are things posted on the web open as fair game? You all "borrow" images to use in your iMovies ... is that cool, legal, or should it be regulated? Clearly, Dr. Bagby even highlighted the fact that ALL photos are protected ... so think twice. The other two myths are interesting, but the first was one is the one that I think we could spend time thinking about and discussing. The other two are that only materials "marked" with the © symbol and are registered with the Copyright office are protected ... the other is that P2P traders will NOT get caught -- both myths! BTW, anything produced and published, posted, or simply created are protected under copyright -- there are alternate copyright formats emerging.

Tidbits

Software is protected as a Literary work -- I did not know that. Sonny Bono -- I had no idea he had anything to do with any of this ... 100 years! That's just silly. He looked at Fair Use Factors ... you really ought to know this stuff! ANGEL is there to protect us ... very interesting ... it’s a shell to authenticate users so we can keep people from seeing what's really in there. Parody and criticism is allowable -- I did not know that either. Last thing … Dr. Bagby sent me this via email to post for you all as well … ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY SEEKS GROKSTER SUPREME CT. REVIEW -- Major movie studios and record labels have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to grant cert to hear an appeal of the Grokster decision. In August, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an April 2003 U.S. District Court decision that certain services should not be held liable for the alleged infringements of their users. Read about it (1 & 2) and view the petition.

Some Cases

He went on to talk about the RIAA and some of their litigation ... did you know that RIAA chief council was none other that a PSU grad named, Barry K. Robinson. This little read pulls it together for you -- BTW, I posted this one before. Anyway, he went on to describe the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 as a response to the fact that all of a sudden, people could really make great home recordings -- the DAT (digital audio tape) allowed people to make these things ... but, the compromise was a form of copy protection scheme -- BTW, Sony still uses some of those types of protections in their Mini Disc players. Fast forward to 1999 to the case of RIAA v Diamond ... a digital audio recording device does not have to use this type of copy protection -- or limitations. Cool stuff ... it means PCs aren't really covered by the law!

Two years later ... Napster shows up. That's when the shit starts to hit the fan ... A&M Records v Napster ... this is what established limits on fair use ... take a look at what this really means ... boil it down, and you have to not be creating competition for the original creator. What does it all mean ... client server architecture for sharing is done. Dr. Bagby says that this is what forced innovation -- they thought they would stop this, but it created a new way to move stuff, peer to peer (P2P) ... man, how do you stop that? I just read something in Business Week that claims copyright is actually stifling innovation ... read, decide, and post!

My Conclusion

This stuff is very complex and is not going to get any easier. As you begin to pull your solutions together, use the resources Dr. Bagby has assembled for you and make sure you are paying attention to the details ... the details will be the difference in the good solutions and the bad ones. The depth of your research will serve you well across the board in all your courses -- and when you get into the real world. Thanks for paying attention and listening. If this stuff interests you, take a couple courses with Dr. Bagby ... hell send him a note and let him know you like it.

FIle Sharing -- MUST READS

Ok, so you've all had a chance to look through the Online IST 110 Challenge for this semester so I thought I'd get you moving in the right direction. First of all, tomorrow, Tuesday 10.12.2004, Dr. John Bagby will be our guest lecturer ... He has posted an entire site that you NEED to look over before class tomorrow ... make sure you do it!

Dr. Bagby is a senior faculty member here in the School of IST focusing on policy and legislative issues in IT. Dr. Bagby is a very well published author and an excellent lecturer and all around good guy. He will be talking a bit about the realities of the file sharing issue ... he asked that you all be prepared to discuss the issues and said he wanted you to look over some basic information. Thanks to our TA, Paula Bach, we have several good sources of information. I'll just drop the links in without editorial notes ... just go and get caught up on this stuff!

Overview of the digital millennium copyright act

Many links (including video) of the Napster case

Webopedia DRM def'n

"DRM is moribund" from Compaq research center

Press release from Grokster that they are not guilty of copyright infringement

Links about legal issues surrounding DRM

I also came across this little article about the MPAA asking the Supreme Court to rule on P2P cases that were already settled ... they are looking for the Court to overturn a ruling that absolve networks for P2P violations of its users. Quick, easy read-->