Freeware

Everyone likes to get things for free, and free computer applications and software are no exception. So, what sorts of computer applications can you get for free? A whole bunch of them! So many so that I will only be able to barely scratch the surface of the offerings.

Google, the king of free applications, offers everything from free maps, email, calendars, blog space, and a ton more. The nice thing about their applications is that they are from a well known and trusted source, and that many of the applications can be tied together with other applications for ease of use (for example - GMail and Google Calendar).

There are also free, open source applications such as those offered by Mozilla. The most popular of which is the Firefox web browser. Firefox offers a solid browser that has many free applications users can add for a customizable web surfing experience.

Most people are familiar with Google and Firefox though. So, what other types of free software are available? There are free anti-malware programs such as Panda Cloud Antivirus Free Edition, free file transfer and sharing such as Bit Torrent, free office programs like Google Docs, and so very much more. PC Magazine recently had an article titled "The Best Free Software of 2010" that showcases some of the best free software that is available today. It includes everything from maps, conferencing, file sharing, security, networking, video, and quite a bit more.

Of course, as with anything that you put onto your computer, it is always a good idea to be careful with what you download. For every great free program, put out there by a trustworthy source, there are always the scores of others that will damage your computer, add spyware, or in some other way be dangerous or annoying. It's always best to do a little research first, and know what you are getting yourself into.

Webtop Applications

For my ninth blog I would like to discuss the topic of web-top applications. A web-top application is basically any desktop application that is run through a web browser. This is not to be confused with a web/network operating system. A web-top integrates web applications, web services, client server applications, and application servers to provide and environment similar to Windows, Mac, or any other comparable desktop application.

The term Web-top was first introduced by Santa Cruz Operation in 1994 to describe the web based operations for their Unix operating system. Since then it has grown significantly with many major online companies trying to get in on the expanding market. The most used is Microsoft, which offers its popular Office Suite as a web-top, while the ever growing Google is not far behind with Google Apps. Other companies like yahoo, Adobe, and Lazlo are also in the race, but seem to be falling behind the two front runners.

Web-top applications have many advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages include convenience, mobility, software management, and high availability from many locations. These are all very good reasons to use web-top applications. There are still disadvantages though such as speed( speed of the application relies on the speed of the connection), network connectivity, the applications features, and central control issues. One area that is an area for debate is the issue of security, as on one side your information will be less venerable to typical attacks( such as viruses, worms, and other vulnerabilities) as well as stored on a secured server. Unfortunately, the recent attacks on Google have showed us that any server can be hacked, so as long as your information is still transferred over the Internet it can still be intercepted. None the less web-top applications are a great advancement in technology, and are sure to grow to new prevalence over the next few years.

Do we really have privacy?

We have our privacy to a certain extent. Yes the government passed a privacy law, but it didn't mention the government retrieving out information from second and third parties. For example, I was watching a tv special about Google. Google saves every search that a person writes in the search box. If they see a trend of terrorism based searches from a certain address, they have the authority to inform the government Not just terrorism, but any suspicious searches. Matter fact the government, suggests that they tell them.

Also, other companies can benefit from gathered information. Based on searches, you may receive more ads that relate to your search topic. In simpler terms, if a individual searches dogs everyday, that person will start to see more dog ads. "Big Brother" sits back and analyze everything we do. Whether it's shopping, driving, martial status or etc...they know. They know more than you think.

There is so much information that we don't know about our government. To me, it's kind of scary that they can find out anything and everything about a person. Their intelligence is beyond our knowledge. The bad thing about that is, there isn't no privacy. The government does not want to fix that problem.

Google Hack

In post number two, I mentioned the events that have been going on between Google Inc. and the nation of China. Seeing as we've been covering technology's impact on society this week, I thought it would be a great chance to talk about some of these international events. Earlier this month, Google announced in an online blog that it had been the victim of several electronic attacks around the week of New Years. These attacks comprised the security of 34 related technological firms linked with Google and originated in China.

The details of these attacks have not been divulged to the public however we do know a few things. First, Google has said that the attacks were mainly aimed at stealing corporate source codes from these companies. Using these source codes, hackers could essentially write their own version of programs already used by these firms and sell them for huge profits. Along with the economic advantage, stolen source code could give hackers valuable insight as to the weaknesses of said programs. For these companies, most of which are in Silicon Valley and are highly electronically oriented, this is a huge problem. After these attacks, Adobe reported that it had been the victim of a security breach itself. It is not known if these events are related however the circumstances are eerily similar. Someone was able to identify a flaw in the programming of Adobe's software and attempted to infiltrate it with a virus that would deposit on someones computer every time they opened a PDF file. Luckily a catastrophe was averted and Adobe sniffed out the attacker and managed to fix the flaw.

The last attack I would like to mention was also aimed at Google. Details of the attack have been kept quiet however we do know that they are separate from the first attacks and that gmail accounts of several Chinese human rights activists have been comprised. We also know that these attacks stemmed from China itself. Every single program, file, webpage, and online interaction has whats known as a digital fingerprint, composed of a string of binary digits. Every fingerprint is completely unique. If two files have 10,000 binary digits exactly the same but one that differs, they have different fingerprints. Using this premise, investigators have been able to trace the security breach back to its own source. This source was a Chinese server and the virus was built using a unique algorithm published only in Chinese.

Anyway, this post is getting kind of long so I will post again before the weekend with updates as well as to discuss some societal connections of these events.

Number Two

Last week I introduced a rather daft theory about Google possibly taking over the world. I would like to talk more about this as there have been some very interesting developments regarding Google's relationship with China in the past two weeks. However, since part of our last lecture was about measurements, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to discuss one of the most advanced systems of business measurements.

A great deal of Google's success as an advertising giant has been their unwavering commitment to measuring internet usage. No matter how important or irrelevant a person or piece of information may be, Google Inc. has taken it into their hands to ensure that no data slips through the cracks. At the beginning of our class, Dr. Drake posed a question; how do we determine what is important to our business? At one point in time Google executives probably asked themselves this very same question. In response, they deduced that Google aims to be the most elaborate internet company in the world and therefore any piece of information that uses the internet medium is relevant to their company. From click throughs on billion dollar company websites, to tracking search engine inquiries, to how many times "kittens inspired by kittens" is viewed on YouTube, every piece of data has its use in some way or another. (I am a firm believer that the extraordinary view count of the "new haircut" video was the main influence leading to the conception of the hit TV show Jersey Shore, but thats a discussion for another time and place.) This logic is what took this innovative company from a mere search engine to a technological giant. By taking responsibility for measuring every single aspect of how people use the internet, Google has positioned itself as one of the most powerful corporations on the planet. Their amount of intellectual property is second to none. However what is most impressive about all of this his how Google has managed to utilize this data. It's not just sitting around somewhere in a computer archive but rather it is being recorded, analyzed and applied to business decisions around the world. If a company wanted to launch an online marketing campaign, it would likely ask Google where its ads would be most effective in reaching their target market.

The problem inherent in all this is that if Google can obtain information from us electronically, certainly anyone can obtain info from them the same way. It seems that people are starting to recognize this. People are also starting to recognize the value of the data that Google has been able to amass. Proof of this notion lies in the recent attacks on Google stemming from Chinese hackers. They have been able to utilize extremely advanced programming language and algorithms to circumvent some of Google's safety measures. These attacks have caused a tremendous backlash and I will talk more about these events in my next blog.

All Hail Google

Seeing as we've been discussing the evolution of computer science in the last two classes, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about about what is, in my opinion, the forerunner in technological Darwinism. As I am writing this, Google Inc. stock is being traded at nearly $600 per share, completely owning the technology sector. To put a little perspective on how staggering this number really is, lets compare with Microsoft. The company that was once so strongly monopolizing the market that the feds had to intervene is going for a solid $30 per share, or about 1/20th of Google. The reason I mention this is to bring attention to the fact that the brilliant folks at Google have managed to completely revolutionize the way business is done with regards to computers.

Now a builder of computers gets to take money from the consumer one time. Meanwhile the consumer is using that computer for years to come, and Google recognized this. Instead of getting into race to build better, faster, cheaper computers, Google decided to take its own path when they essentially went right over companies like Apple or HP and said we're not going to build computers, we're going to capitalize off how people use the product that you built. They've been able to do this a variety of ways but the most prominent being a revolutionary approach to internet advertising. By actively monitoring the consumers internet habits and with the upkeep of an endless global database of cookies and keystrokes, Google is able to deliver personally tailored ads to the market demographic most likely to respond to them. Coupling this with their recognition as the most powerful search engine on the planet, buying ad time from Google instantly becomes a very alluring idea for any business owner. Now this is obviously an oversimplified synopsis of how they make their money but the way that this company has been able to compile information about its target market is truly phenomenal.

In fact, Google has amassed so much information on each and everyone of us that they probably know more about us than our mothers do. Google knows where we get our news, it knows our credit card numbers, it even knows what kind of porn we watch and who were having an affair with through Facebook messaging. Google knows all and could probably take on God in a trivia contest. And if they say knowledge is power, well then Google may be the most powerful entity on the planet. I case you haven't figured it out yet, I am pretty convinced that Google's world takeover is inevitably in our near future. I will use this blog over the next few weeks to keep you updated on what Google is doing from a business perspective as well as throw in a few paranoid thoughts of my own.