GHawkins’s IT450 Blog

Source: Wired 01.08 “Do You Trust Google”

Nicholas Carr sat down for some Q&A from Wired.  Carr is the author of “Does IT Matter” and “The Big Switch”.  He sees the emergence and popularity of programs like google, gmail, myspace, and the sort as a change from PCs to network terminals, and NO he does not trust this change as far as privacy is concerned. 

As more and more programs are being stored remotely and accessed through the internet, the need for powerful hard drives on your PC decrease and the desire for high-performance network and video cards increase.  The servers that store the software need the massive hard drives, CPUs, et al.  The servers also house databases with user login information, program data, user’s personal data, and useage details in some cases.  This is where privacy becomes an issue.  Actually, privacy has always been an issue, but this brings a new side to it. 

When we store our data on our PCs, we are responsible for its security – this may make some people feel safe.  However, we, as average users do not have the knowledge or resouces to prevent attacks.  Anti-virus software and firewalls help, but many users have never learned how to use them effectively, and many hackers know how to get around them with ease. 

By storing your data and personal information on a remote server, a sense of unrest may occur when you realize its security if out of your hands.  You don’t know who is personally protecting your privacy or if you can trust them. You don’t know if the company is keeping you secure or if they are going to try to sell your information for a quick buck.  On the other hand, large companies will have many more resources available to protect its consumers and itself.  Also, out of fear of litigation, these companies may be more intersted in protecting your data than you are.

I must agree with Carr, that the technological changes happening around us are frightening.  However, I trust network applications more, now that privacy standards are increasing and enforcement is improving.   Furthermore, I feel better having my privacy in the hands of a specialist whose job is data security than I would taking on the responsibility myself; and to be frank, I’d rather have someone else to blame (preferably someone with a tight privacy agreement and lots of resources to compensate for damages).

Source: Wired 01.08 “Cover Story: On iTunes, a careless click may buy you an imposter”

The Red Sauce recording group specializes in “re-records” of popular music downloads.  This group re-records music from a wide variety of genres, and many songs sound incredibly similar to the original recordings.  As a result, many consumers are accidentally downloading their recordings with the intention of getting the original artist’s work.  This is making Apple and Red Sauce very happy (Apple is reporting double purchases and Red Sauce is selling “their” work). 

This problem could be eliminated if the original recordings were listed as originals.  This change could be implemented in their database by adding a new attribute (original recording?), however, this would cost time and money.  I understand Apple’s reluctance to spend resources on this change, because they are, after all, making money on people’s confusion.  The cost of a “Red Sauce mistake” is $1.00 per song.  This amount is too small for most consumers to argue about, but until they do, Apple will have no motivation to change.

When setting up this database, one may assume that sorting duplicate titles by artist would be enough.  Many situations are unpredictable, and only come to light after extensive use.  This is a good example of how thinking ahead can prevent problems with your database.  It is also a great example of how many companies work… just because a problem arises, it doesn’t mean a company will be interesed in fixing it.  A Company must decide how a problem is affecting them, their users, and their FinanceS.  A problem will only be fixed if the price is right; at least that’s my humble opinion.

As the semester goes on this site will fill with my opinions and ideas on selected IT issues and current events as they relate to the world of databases.  However, I would like to start by explaining my ideas and interest in databases as I stand now.  More than likely, these ideas will be modified and my interest accelerated (if possible) by the end of the semester. 

A little about me… I have worked in the IT field since 2000, and have A+, Network+, and MCP certifications.  However, I was not exposed to databases until I was thrown into a temporary IT position in a company that relied solely on Access to store their data, and relied soley on miracles to keep their data safe (no Network Administrator or IT staff other than me…).   

This exposure not only opened my eyes to the incredible importance of data storage and organization, but also to the need for skilled professionals to optimize and maintain data (for the days that faith is low, lol).  Now, I cannot think of a business that would not benefit from a well-maintained database. 

I set up a small Access database for my wedding planning.  I sold hand-made jewelry at the Fall Festival this year, and a database was the perfect way to track inventory and sales.  I would like to have an animal shelter one day, and I am already imagining the great help a database will provide – from tracking animal adoptions, donations, individual health records, supply inventory, and ordering.

Basically, I feel that specializing in database administration will enable me to work wherever I please, whether it be for NASA or PETA or my personal endeavors.  Everyone needs to organize their records, keep them safe, and access them in different ways (i.e. sorted lists or intricate reports), and I don’t currently know of any better technology than that of databases to acheive these goals.