Week 10 Entry

The concept of a Mechanical Turk is genius. Although people cannot make a living off of this, it still is creating ways for people to make easy, quick money, without a college education. Taking in account of the opposition, I believe that it's not immoral because people are not forced to do these jobs and they are well aware that they are doing this work without much pay. Many of them are not doing these jobs for the money but only to keep themselves entertained so if you really want to look at the whole situation closely, people are sort of getting paid to keep themselves busy as opposed to looking at it as below minimum wage work. Also in technical terms they are getting paid justly for the work that they do because the tasks provided by the site do not call for much experience or effort.

The comical feel to the Aaron Shaw video grabbed my attention and made learning more about the turk system more enjoyable. I kind of was confused to how the Colbert Report video related to the turk subject though. I do find it funny that the turks became upset when the grad student began to sell their drawn sheep for $20 when only paying $2 for them to draw them. Maybe in the aspect of products in that sense it may be immoral to sell the work of art of another. But according to the site his actions were still considered moral so he's not to blame.

Week 8 Entry

After reading all the readings I came to a conclusion that the common point that was supposed to be made was that technology not only has a digital effect on issues that take place in the world but also has a social effect as well. While reading the Is it a Crime? article I sort of related it to the social network, Tumblr. You are allowed to ask any on there a question as an anonymous person. Usually those are the boldest people to  speak just because of their unidentifiable profile. One of my friends was asked a simple question on there and ended up somehow giving away her hint for her password to her email, which was connected to her facebook as well. The hacker then took her profile and somehow received her number and held her facebook page captive, using it to message random people and deceive them as if it were her.

On Electronic Civil Disobedience began by speaking more about reality and Civil Disobedience in the real world. I really thought it was clever how they transitioned into the cyber realm and how hackers are considered disobedient when it comes to their activity online. Then the use of the physical blockade that was used to compare to the blockades that are made to prevent hackers from doing anything unethical sort of made it more understandable and in terms I could relate to. The Zapatista Effect: The Internet and the Rise of an Alternative Political Fabric was kind of confusing to me, I always get lost when the articles are sort of lengthy and don't necessarily clearly state the point. Rebellion and the use of the internet during rebellion are the main points I reached from that article.

Critical Analysis Pseudo-code

Learning programming this way gives people like me, non-computer science degrees, an easier way to comprehend the subject matter. It would be almost near impossible for me to learn code in enough time to effectively execute it in an actual program. Dance would not be the only thing that could be done in a pseudo-code, everything you do that is considered an action could be put in pseudo-code. For example, waking up in the morning, you would start the code with get out of bed, and you could loop your movement to and from the bathroom because many people take more than one trip during the morning for brushing teeth and other things. Another pseudo-code could be made from driving, starting the engine would be the beginning and you could loop using turn signals after a certain about of passed cars or streets.

While making our pseudo-code the hardest part was probably figuring out the song to use. We came across a few choices; "Party in the USA," "Thriller," and "Sunshine" but we decided to use "Hey Ya!" because of it's flexibility and our ability to break it down using loops and other computer science tools. Our objective is to have at least one group member act as Andre 3000 while the rest of the group acts sort of like his back-up dancers. I did have a question regarding the actual performance. During the performance does the narrator speak while the group performs or after?

"Now all Beyonces and Lucy Lius and Baby Dolls, get on the floor"

During our performance on Sunday you will figure out how these shots are relevant to our routine.

"Hey Ya!" Code

#include <Freestyle>

#include <Math.rand>

#include “Heya.mp3”

Main{

            Gather dancers

            Let random dancer be Andre 3000

            Start music

            While count is less than or equal to three

                        Wait

            Call Heya

            Start BackUpThread

            Start AndreThread

            Exit(EXIT_SUCCESS)

}

function Heya{

            define right = +1 right hand shake //left to right

            define left = +1 left hand shake //left to right

            define rightInv = -1 right hand shake //right to left

            define leftInv = -1 left hand shake //right to left

            for count equals 1 to 2

                        sing “Heeey”

                        right++

                        left++

                        sing “Yaaaa”

                        leftInv++

                        rightInv++

}

BackUpThread {

            Var count

            Sleep(“Fellas”) //wait until “fellas” is said

            If male

                        Cup hands around mouth

                        Say “Yeah!”

                        Sleep(“Cool”) //wait until “cool” is said

For count equals 1 to 2

                                    Shiver

                        Say “Ice Cold!”

Else

            Loiter

Sleep(“Ladies”) //wait until “ladies” is said

            Cup hands around mouth

            Say “Yeah!”

            Sleep(“Suga’”)

            Blow kiss

While Andre says shake it

            Shake //Shake something

Sleep(“Beyonce”)

            Place picture of Beyonce in front of face

Sleep(“Lucy Liu”)

            Place picture of Lucy Liu in front of face

}

AndreThread {

            Var count

            Sing “Hey, alright now\nAlright now fellas.”

            Sing “Now what’s cooler than being cool?”

            Cup hand around ear          

            Sing “I can’t hear ya. I say what’s cooler than being cool?”

            Cup hand around ear

            For count equals 1 to 14

                        Sing “Alright”

                        Number = rand(0,1)

                        Switch(Number)

Case 0: Jump in place

            Break;

Case 1: Jump around back up dancers

            Sing “OK now ladies”

            Cup hand around ear

            Start Freestyle

            Sing “I see we gonna break it down in just a few seconds”

            Sing “Don’t make me break it down for nothing”

            Sing “Now I wanna see y’all on y’all baddest behavior”

            Sing “Lend me some suga. I am your neighbor”

            For count  = 1  to 4

                        Sing “Shake it, shake, shake it”

            Sing “Shake it like a polaroid picture

            For count = 1 to 3

                        Sing “Shake it, shake, shake it”

            Sing “Shake it like a polaroid picture”

            Sing “Now all the Beyonce’s and Lucy Liu’s and baby dolls, get on the floor”

            For count = 1 to 3

                        Sing “You know what to dooo”

            Stop Freestyle

}

Week 7 Entry

The Right to Read seemed to relate to a lot to the modern trend of stealing products over the internet. A lot of people nowadays do not pay for things such as music, movies, and programs because of it's availability for free. I feel as though the punishments for piracy is outrageous, stealing software and other electronic data isn't really hurting anyone. If anything it's helping because it's showing that maybe online security should tighten up more. Referencing last week's hacker article, many professional hackers love the feeling of cracking the system and getting what they want, some people feel the same away about being able to get something for free that would of costed them money out their pocket.

While reading the Welcome to Sealand. Now Bugger Off. article. I felt like it was a little hypocritical for HavenCo to be against spam and cyber sabotage to be off limits but still support things such as porn, online gambling, and pyramid schemes, if anything get rid of it all. The article did grab my attention but a lot of it seemed random to me. Going from the topic of cyber punks to guns to helicopters, I was very confused. I didn't really gain an understanding on this subject due to its jumping from point to point. 

Week 6 Entry

Policing the Spectrum was very interesting to me because I am very interested in hackers. I've always been curious as to why they would want to disrupt the organization of a computer for their satisfaction. After this reading, it became sort of clear to me, they hack computers because security systems and firewalls prove a challenge for them to accomplish. When they're told "no" in the form of these security blocks, hackers want to prove that the security is no match for their expertise.  I've honestly caught many viruses while surfing the internet as well as just checking my email.

As for the article on digital voting, I believe that subject has both its pros and cons. It would be beneficial for those who cannot make it to the polls to vote which would lead to an increase in participation. Also voting digitally would appeal to a younger crowd, which would more than likely raise the vote of the youth by a lot. The negative side to this would be that all this information would be digital, targeted by people such as hackers who would love to outwit the government by tapping into these ballots. As well as politicians trying their best to tamper with the votes for their advantage.

Lyrical Algorithm

1. 

   
   
   
   1.   Open browser
   
   2.     Visit Wikipedia.org
   3.     Search (Katy Perry)
   4.     Look at discography
   5.     Find (album 3), (track 11)
   6.     Open new tab
   7.     Go to metrolyrics.com
   8.     Search the song found
   9.     Look at stanza 3 word 5
   10. Write down this word, labeling it “6”
   11. Return to Wikipedia.org
   12. Search (Jamie Foxx)
   13. Look at discography
   14. Find (album 3), (track 4) 
   15. Return to metrolyrics.com
   16. Search the song found
   
   

   

   17. Look at stanza 9 word 2
   18. Write down this word, labeling it “8”
   19. Return to Wikipedia.org
   20. Search (Run DMC),
   21. Look at discography
   22. Find (album 5), (track 8)
   23. Return to metrolyrics.com
   24. Search the song found
   25. Look at stanza 7 word 9
   26. Write down this word, labeling it “9”
   27. Return to Wikipedia.org
   28. Search (Sam Sparro)
   29. Look at discography
   30. Find (album 1), (track 2)
   31. Return to metrolyrics.com
   32. Search the song found
   33. Look at stanza 9 word 2
   34. Write down this word, labeling it “10”
   35. Return to Wikipedia.org
   36. Search (Amerie)
   37. Look at discography
   38.  Find (album 2), (track 1)
   39. Go to metrolyrics.com
   40. Search the song found
   41. Look at stanza 6 word 9
   42. Write down this word, labeling it “2”
   43. Return to Wikipedia.org
   44. Search (Two Door Cinema Club)
   45. Look at discography
   46. Find (album 1), (track 8)
   47. Return to metrolyrics.com
   48. Search the song found
   49. Look at stanza 1 word 9
   50. Write down this word, labeling it “3”
   51. Return to Wikipedia.org
   52. Search (Panic! At the Disco)
   53. Look at discography
   54. Find (album 2), (track 2)
   55. Return to metrolyrics.com
   56. Search the song found
   57. Look at stanza 5 word 4
   58. Write down this word, labeling it “5”
   59. Return to Wikipedia.org
   60. Search (Kanye West)
   61. Look at discography
   62. Find (album 5), (track 3)
   63. Return to metrolyrics.com
   64. Search the song found
   65. Look at stanza 9 word 24
   66. Write down this word, labeling it “11”
   67. Return to Wikipedia.org
   68. Search (Limp Bizkit)
   69. Look at discography
   70. Find (album 3), (track 3)
   71. Return to metrolyrics.com
   72. Search the song found
   73. Look at stanza 5 word 25
   74. Write down this word, labeling it “7”
   75. Return to Wikipedia.org
   76. Search (Timbaland)
   77. Look at discography
   78. Find (album 3), (track 5)
   79. Return to metrolyrics.com
   80. Search the song found
   81. Look at stanza 2 word 17
   82. Write down this word, labeling it “4”
   83. Return Wikipedia.org
   84. Search (Miley Cyrus)
   85. Look at discography
   86. Find (Extended play 1), (track 2)
   87. Return to metrolyrics.com
   88. Search the song found
   89. Look at stanza 5 word 20
   90. Write down this word, labeling it “1”
   91. Now place all the words in numerical order
   92. Place colon between word 7 & 8
   
   
   
   
   
   

Algorithm Analysis

            The concept for our algorithm was to create a hidden message using song lyrics. Because our honors program is one based on digital culture, we thought it would appropriate to base our algorithm on the virtual realm we know as the Internet. Using two sites as tools, wikipedia.org and metrolyrics.com, we were able to dissect songs word for word using a cut-up method to hand select what we wanted our message to read. The message read “The keys to success in our generation: digital culture and creativity.” Referring to our honor’s program.

            While the other group attempted to use our algorithm, I noticed that there were two types of errors made: user errors and programming errors. When the user would go to Wikipedia they would get lost trying to find the section where the album information would be located. We fixed this by specifying in the algorithm to go down to the discography.  Also wrong information was given when it came to the album number and word count. This was fixed by rechecking the source online.

            As for user error, once she went to attempt our algorithm, the user documented the wrong word or looked at the wrong album. After finishing up this project I can conclude that no matter how detailed orientated an algorithm may be, if a human user is used rather than a machine, there is always a chance of human error. I say this because machines are programmed to carry out whatever it is told. As opposed to humans, who may misread something or use their own intuition and take action. 
           
           Although when discussing the subject of "moving through a space," you think of a literal meaning of movement from one place to the next, we took it a step further and tackled digital movement (site to site). When reading Neuromancer the author spoke about virtual reality and being able to basically take the form of a body in this world and move. My group took that idea and dumbed it down for a more intermediate use. The thought of traveling from one site to the next to gain information would replicate traveling from one library on campus to another. This also proves the point that technology has in fact made obtaining information a lot more easier than it once was.