Open Source vs...the world?

While I was gone, there was much discussion pertaining to open source software.

Eric spoke in his post about open source encryption algorithms, Jake wrote about free software, even Professor Zapalla talked about open source science.

I'm going to try and make this post as unbiased as possible....but I make no guarantees.

So, I think that the majority of people care about open-source because its free. Microsoft charges hundreds for their Office Suite, people complain and turn to Open-Source for solutions.

People claim that open source is better because there is much more people looking at the code and making changes. But isn't that a disadvantage as well? So if there is an issue with the software, you have to wait for someone else to find the solution in their spare time!

Now don't get me wrong, I think that open source has its place. Most of the web pages on the internet are being served on Linux machines. For such a wide-use product that is necessary, open source may be the best bet. The configurability of linux servers makes their use for webpages ideal. But for a product, like Office, that provides business and personal solutions, why wouldn't you charge?

Maybe I don't fully understand economics. But if we keep going towards free products, especially free computing products, won't this affect our economy severely? If Microsoft goes out of business, if the second wealthiest person in the world goes out of business, won't everyone feel it?

At Pascal, well, I'm number 1

Blaise Pascal. Inventor of the computing machine. To whom all computer scienctists owe their jobs, knowledge, and lives to. Okay, maybe not that much.

"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed. The entire universe need not arm itself to crush him. A vapor, a drop of water suffices to kill him. But, if the universe were to crush him, man would still be more noble than that which killed him, because he knows that he dies and the advantage which the universe has over him, the universe knows nothing of this.
All our dignity then, consists in thought. By it we must elevate ourselves, and not by space and time which we cannot fill. Let us endavour then, to think well; this is the principle of morality"

It seems like he was more than just a mathematician, but a philosopher too. After a near-death experience and an encounter with God, he abandoned math and science and became a Christian Philosopher.

Not to mention quite a hairdo

I found a nice blog post from a Randy Alcorn speaking of finding happiness and Pascal's philosophies. Check it out! I'll end with another Pascal quote:

All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves. (Pascal’s Pensées, thought #425, edited by Trotter, 113).

Teaser for post on encyclopedias

Here's a good video to hold my readers over until I finish my post on encyclopedias...

Meetups and Alerts

I finally got to meet with my group for the Digital Literacy Labs---even with my hectic schedule due to a new daughter--have I mentioned how cute she is?

Anyway, I met with Megan and she showed me all about Meetup, a site where you say what your interests are, then 'meetup' with other people who share your interests. Similar to Facebook groups, but far superior.

With Meetup, you can specify where you want to meet and about what topic. So, if I'm heading back to MD for a couple weeks, but I want to find people to watch the BYU football games with, I have a medium to find those people! Pretty cool huh? The only downside is it costs 12 buck a month to host a meetup. I think this explains why there aren't that many people on the site hosting meetups, but a TON of people who are trying to join some.

I had the chance to look into alerts. Alerts are a pertty sweet way to stay on top of what the internet holds. I chose Google Alerts, although there are alerts for various library databases and news sites.

A google alert will check the internet (using a google search) every so often, and will send you an alert, by email or RSS feed, when something new is posted. Since the content on the Internet is ever-changing, this feature is essential when doing research for a class, or when you're just trying to stay on top of news for a particular topic.

Here's what you need to do to use Google Alerts:

1. Go to alerts.google.com
2. Enter your search text you want to use.
3. You can narrow your search down more to what type of content you want. Options include: News, Blogs, Updates, Video, and Discussion.
4. Choose how often you want the alerts. Once a day, once a week, or as it happens.
5. How many results to post in an email (if you choose email).
6. Your email address. If you are signed into Google, you can also post the results to your RSS feed. This is what I did, so I can read them with all my other updates I get from around the web.

Its that Easy!!

You just have to be careful as to what you search for, and what type you search for. My search of BYU football with Everything as the content has pulled almost 1000 results in just 10 days! The more specific you search, the more meaningful content you receive.

AI and chess....an unlikely combination

Brother Zapalla wrote and discussed Artifical Intelligence in class and in his blog post earlier last week. I wrote a short paper on this topic a year or so ago, and thought I would share it with everyone...

In the past 20 years, as the Information Technology realm has developed, technology has grown by leaps and bounds. In 1981, the first IBM personal computer was launched. It had a whopping 4.77 m Hz processor and anywhere from 16-256 KB of RAM. Now, a little over 20 years later, one can buy a computer for a thousandth of the cost of the first IBM computer that is a thousand times more powerful. The more you learn about machines and computer, the more you wonder how far will the power, capabilities, and intelligence of a computer be pushed. In Abu Dhabi, there lies a computer...rather a network of 64 computers, each with 3.06 G Hz processor and with over 512 GB of RAM called Hydra. These computers all work together for one purpose: Checkmate.



Every since the computer's inception, there have been people trying to code strong chess programs to see how “smart” a computer can be. However, these programs coupled with the speed and available memory of the given computers proved to be no match for the human brain. In as early as the 1960's humans would play computers and would win by a landslide. International Chess master David Levy made a wager of 1250 pounds that no computer could beat him in 10 years. He won that bet, as every computer to come his way was met with defeat over the chessboard. However, technology did catch up with Levy, as he lost his first game to a computer in 1989. Since then, the computers have reigned supreme.

Ross reports a number of world-champion Grandmasters who have lost the battle to computers. Most of them, in fact. Britain's Mickey Adams(ranked 7th in the world), Uzebekistan's Rustam Kasimdzhanov, both fell to computer in the same week. What has caused this change in power? Ross states that “First, the best humans now playing are simply not as good as the former. . . Second, the machines are getting smarter. Their programmers are learning how to counter anti-computer strategies.”(link) These programmers are doing what was unthinkable in the 1960's: programming the computer to think like a human.

The human-computer interface and the idea of AI is a newer part of the Information Technology field, but it is a part nonetheless. The human-computer interface has been relevant for a number of years. However, being able to program a computer that deep and specific is one thing, but going through with it and doing it is something else. A matter of ethics comes into play when this in introduced. Is the human brain just a computer? Can it be simulated? Should it be simulated? These are just a few questions that may arise when facing this decision. This is not an intent to persuade one way or the other, but rather to inform of the sides of this controversy. People may say that technology hasn't gone that far yet. However, Mickey Adams said that, “Hydra plays very well indeed. Very often it plays human-style chess, which is strange.” Also, Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov(ranked 3rd in the world), had this to say after losing to new model of Fritz(a popular program like Hydra), “What have you done to Fritz?”

Hydra (Part 1) - Funny home videos are a click away

For those of you interested....

All About Me!

Growing up, we always had a computer in our home. My dad was constantly trying to stay on top of the latest technology trends to help manage his electrical business. We had one of the 486 computers from the early 90's and almost everything since. I grew up learning to use a Word processor called WordStar. All it was a blue screen with white text and 3 basic menu selections....ahh those were the days of MS-DOS based games and basic windows.

The best game EVER!!

(for about 6 months before A Link to the Past was released)

Even though I grew up with computers all around me, I wasn't the most proficient in programming or changing hardware or computer hacking skills. I felt that I still had a life outside of computers, and I think that's why I didn't end up a CS major. (Sorry Professor!). If it helps, I do have a CS minor...

I started BYU in the fall of 2003. I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life at ALL! But, after a few years of taking classes, having fun, and getting married, I finally settled on IT as a major. I think of IT as the jack of trades with computers. We do some programming, some hardware, some project management, some database administration, basically, a little of everything. Plus we have people skills (Sorry again Professor!).

So here I am, about to graduate BYU in 'just a shade under a decade'(brownie points if you know this movie) and I'm just taking my second civilization course. I really am glad I waited this long, because this class is going to be awesome! How many times can I take a humanities class from a CS professor? (Does this make up for my jokes, Brother Zapalla?)


Fast Facts:
Born: Salisbury, MD
Raised: Salisbury, MD
Graduated HS: Salisbury, MD
Met my wife: Salisbury, MD (See a trend?)
Mission: Budapest, Hungary 04-06
Married: November 30, 2007
Expecting: a Girl on September 21st (or whenever she wants to come!)
Graduating: April 2011
Major: Information Technology
Minor: Computer Science