How does this websites video tracker work? internet-class 2016-12-02 | You asked, so now we’ll explain how the video tracker built into this website works. It’s actually a nice example of what you can do with JavaScript and simple external interfaces.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is quantum computing? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today computers represent and manipulate data in binary bits: 1s and 0s. Tomorrow, they may be able to directly represent uncertainty by manipulating quantum-mechanical states. In a quantum computer, a qubit can represent any one of many possible states with fluctuating probability. While quantum computing is still in its infancy, if realized quantum computers may be able to solve certain problems much more quickly than today’s computers. For example, algorithms exists allowing quantum computers to quickly perform integer factorization, which could challenge the basis for most modern cryptosystems.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is artificial intelligence? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today, most of the intelligence online is in one way or another generated by humans. Tomorrow, we may find ourselves interacting with increasingly intelligent computers. And, given the computational resources required to operate such creations, we’re sure to find them online first. Alan Turing designed his Turing Test to determine whether computers had achieved a level of intelligence allowing them to impersonate a human. In the future, we might just find machines passing it.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the quantified self? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today most of what the internet knows about us is limited to what we tell it. Tomorrow, an increase in the number of sensors that we attach to ourselves and surround ourselves with may provide rich new data streams for internet services to consume. One term for this movement is the quantified self. At its best, it represents an earlier ideal that what can be measured can be understood and potentially improved. However, at least today the links between more data and better outcomes remain tenuous. But in the future data collected from sensors mounted on and inside of us may allow the internet to care for us when we are sick, recommend what to eat, and generally help us take better care of our fragile human selves.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is web assembly? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today web programming is limited to JavaScript. Tomorrow we’ll probably see something different. Web assembly aims to break JavaScript’s monopoly on the browser using an old-fashioned approach. Rather than using a single interpreted language (JavaScript), web programs could be written in any language and then compiled down into (web) assembly code that would run in the browser. In the future, it’s unlikely that JavaScript will maintain its hold on frontend web development. But it had a great run.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is virtual reality? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today cyberspace exists on our screens. Tomorrow it may be plastered right on our eyeballs. Virtual reality technologies attempt to immerse us in a virtual world that today coexists with the actual physical world. Rather than seeing a representation of a virtual world on a screen, virtual reality headsets allow us to see it first hand. In the future it is clear that technology will provide ever more immersive ways to get lost in cyberspace.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is Bitcoin? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today, the value of currencies is based on national power. Tomorrow, cryptocurrencies that are based on cryptography may provide an alternate source of wealth and exchange that can operate independently of a central bank or authority. The most well-known cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, which is already used as a medium of exchange by many online—particularly on the dark web. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are undoubtedly the precursor to major changes in the banking and finance industries brought about by the internet. In the future banking will be different, although it’s not clear how just yet.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What should the internet become? internet-class 2016-12-02 | The internet is a set of technologies. It is not trying to become anything—rather, it reflects a mixture of the many visions of those that created and continue to use it. So what the internet should become is ultimately a very personal question. What do you think it should become? Fifty years from now, how would you like the internet—and computing generally—to be different? What do you think is wrong with the internet we have today, and how should we fix it? The answers to these questions matter because you are one of the people that will shape the internet’s destiny.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is augmented reality? internet-class 2016-12-02 | Today our virtual and physical world must coexist loosely side-by-side. But tomorrow they may be intermingle right in front of our eyes. For example, if I want to learn how to install a door, today I watch a video and then try to project the advice into the space I am working in. Tomorrow, with the aid of augmented reality technologies, I may be able to see advice, tips, and useful information projected right on the materials I am working with. This will usher in a powerful shift in the ways that the information online and our physical experience of reality coexist. In the future, it is clear that the internet will become even more directly a part of our real world.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Goodbye, and good luck. internet-class 2016-12-02 | It’s been a great pleasure teaching you this term. I hope a bit of the excitement and joy I feel about the internet has rubbed off on you. I’ll use this opportunity to thank the course staff, including the fantastic undergraduate teaching assistants. None of this would have been possible without them. And I want to say a special word of thanks to Greg Bunyea, the head undergraduate teaching assistant. This would definitely not have been possible with him.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is machine learning? internet-class 2016-12-02 | The expansion of the semantic web along with more powerful artificial intelligence techniques may have a unique effect on so-called machine learning. Machine learning is a subset of AI that focuses on allowing computers to more effectively learn and generalized from data. As the amount of data online increases, and becomes more structured, this should improve the power of existing and new machine learning techniques. Tomorrow’s robots may not need to be display artificial intelligence, assuming that they can learn enough from all the data we’ll be able to provide them.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What was the analytical engine? internet-class 2016-12-01 | One of the first visions of what would become the computer was Charles Babbage’s analytical engine. While the design for his mechanical computer was never realized, he is still considered the father of the modern computer. And his designs were furthered through a long-running correspondence with Countess Ada Lovelace, who is widely considered the first computer programmer. She not only helped explain Babbage’s creation, but also described what is considered the first computer algorithm that could have run on the analytical engine. Although they operate very differently, Babbage’s vision found realization in the computers we use today.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What are some problems with cloud computing? internet-class 2016-12-01 | We are living through the dawn of cloud computing. But some of the clouds are dark ones. Latency to cloud infrastructure remains a problem for many interactive apps and services. The security of data in the cloud requires an intentionally amorphous set of entities and infrastructure. And the cloud still struggles at times to provide reliability guarantees. At times, the cloud should still remind us of Leslie Lamport’s definition of a distributed system: "a system where I can’t get my work done because a computer has failed that I’ve never even heard of."Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is cloud computing? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Today we are already witnessing cloud computing changing the role of user-facing devices. End-user devices—from laptops to embedded device—can easily tap into seemingly limitless computational and storage resources in the internet cloud. While the cloud seems new, in a way it speaks to a past vision of thin-client computing in which "dumb terminals" would get their smarts by connecting to all-powerful backend infrastructure. The rise of powerful personal computers delayed this vision by a few decades, but it’s possible that in the future most of the computing power will be located in data centers. All we’ll be carrying around will be just glorified monitors and input devices.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the fully-distributed web? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Today, almost all of our online interactions follow the client-server model, with the cloud emerging as the ultimate and all-powerful server. But a new generation of internet and web technologies are challenging this architecture. It has always been possible to build a fully-distributed web and internet, in which all currently centralized functions would be delegated to a shifting set of machines. To some degree, the cloud is already accomplishing this, as did earlier generations of peer-to-peer systems. But there are serious efforts underway to bring such a fully-distributed web to fruition. Perhaps tomorrow we will all be part of the cloud?Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is Project Loon? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Today, around half the world still lacks internet access. Tomorrow, everyone will be connected. One interesting effort to provide wide area but slow internet access is Project Loon at Google. Like many similar efforts, it avoids thorny and expensive infrastructure problems by beaming internet down from the sky. Whether from balloons or lazily-orbiting planes, billions of people might receive their first internet access as a literal gift from above.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the semantic web? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Today web content exists largely for human consumption, and as a result in a semi-structured form. Tomorrow, we may see the emergence of even more structured web content that makes the web easier for machines to understand and more like a distributed database. Take, for example, the sentence: "Geoffrey Challen started working at UB in 2011." To a human, this sentence represents a relationship between two entities (Geoffrey Challen and UB) and a fact about that relationship (started in 2011). However, a computer might find this description hard to parse without sophisticated natural language processing. In the future, next-generation semantic web technologies may help structure this relationship more clearly using additional markup.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What was the memex? internet-class 2016-12-01 | In 1945 Vannevar Bush described a computer system very similar to today’s modern internet in a seminal article in the Atlantic Monthly entitled "As We May Think". He called his creation the memex. Bush imagined the memex as a device that would function as a supplement to our own faulty and limited memory. We would use it to store all of our books and communications, and it would allow us to summon them at will. Although the internet evolved features that Bush did not anticipate, his vision found realization in the web we use today. Particularly in the search engines which allow us to retrieve information so quickly and easily.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is millimeter-wave networking? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Today our wireless internet connections are fast. But tomorrow they could be even faster. In a search for ever more bandwidth, today researchers are experimenting with wireless technologies that use much higher frequencies than today’s Wifi and cellular networks. So-called millimeter-wave networks promise dramatic improvements in wireless performance. There’s only one catch—millimeter-wave signals are highly-attenuated by many objects and propagate much more similarly to visible light. So building practical networks that can deliver signals to mobile devices presents many engineering challenges.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is man-computer symbiosis? internet-class 2016-12-01 | In 1960, J.C.R. Licklider extended Bush’s vision further in describing systems that would enable man-computer symbiosis. Licklider described man-computer symbiosis as enabling "men and computers to cooperate in making decisions and controlling complex situations". Much of the early interest in such systems came out of the military, which encountered many complex situations that they needed help controlling. The internet has enabled many such systems. Bloomberg terminals and car navigation systems are just two examples of systems allowing humans and computers to work together to control complex situations. Even self-driving cars still need a human to tell them where to go.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the read-write internet? internet-class 2016-12-01 | Sir Tim Berners-Lee imagined the web as a place where people would both encounter and share content. But at some point internet content became very one-directional: a read-only internet that resembled a somewhat more interactive form of existing broadcast media like television. However, the vision of a read-write internet lives on in certain ways. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other sites that allow users to share content have resulted in an explosion of sharing and creating, despite the limitations inherent to these platforms. And of course Wikipedia probably represents the ultimate realization of the read-write internet, as millions of users collaborate to create an online encyclopedia. But you can expect selling and sharing to continue to duel it out online for the foreseeable future.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Introduction to lost and future visions of the internet. internet-class 2016-12-01 | Now we know what the internet is. But what will it become? To approach this question, we’ll start by revisiting past visions of what the internet could become and see how they have been (or have not been) realized. Then we’ll look at the future of various parts of the internet, from connectivity to protocols to security to identity. At the end, we’ll come back to the question of what the web is becoming and how we are involved. As Frank Bidart very beautifully put it, "We fill pre-existing forms and when we fill them change them and are changed."Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is open-source software? internet-class 2016-11-22 | One of the more interesting models for content creation that accompanied the birth of the internet is open-source software. In the open-source community, software artifacts are given away for free—although licensing terms vary. The open-source model provides vibrant proof that there are many different ways to incentivize people to build and create things—and that money is just one of them. Even without direct payment, many contributors to the open-source community are well-compensated, both in fame and fortune.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)? internet-class 2016-11-22 | As the internet has matured, legislation has played an increasingly important role in determining what ends up online. An important piece of early internet copyright legislation is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), passed in 1998. The DMCA is known for several provisions. One criminalizes attempts to circumvent digital rights management (DRM) access control measures. Another provides a mechanism—known as a takedown notice—allowing copyright owners to request that copyrighted content made available illegally online be removed. The DMCA also provides safe harbor provisions exempting websites and internet service providers from liability if their users post copyrighted material. The DMCA has been criticized repeatedly since its inception, mainly by groups concerned with its chilling effects on consumer freedoms, competition, and free speech.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What kinds of fake content are available online? internet-class 2016-11-22 | The internet has made it easier to publish anything online and make it look legitimate. Unfortunately, this also includes a variety of things that are either misleading or intentionally incorrect. Think about it: before the internet, publishing a fake newspaper wasexpensive. Now it’s cheap and easy to make a completely fake online newspaper that can look almost indistinguishable from a legitimate newspaper. But why would anyone do this? Easy: money.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
How has the internet changed the newspaper industry? internet-class 2016-11-22 | The newspaper industry has been greatly changed and challenged by the emergence of the internet. Early decisions to make a great deal of news content available for free made it difficult to charge users later. As a result, we now have entire generations that are used to finding free news online. There’s only one problem—good reporting costs money, and good reporting matters a great deal in a free society. Newspapers will continue to adapt to the internet, and it is unlikely that paid reporters will ever be replaced by the crowd. But it is far from clear that the internet has, to date, had a positive effect on news reporting and society’s need to know the truth.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
How did Napster change the music industry? internet-class 2016-11-22 | An early but important example of the tensions created by freely-available online content was Napster. Napster was a peer-to-peer music-sharing service that enabled the widespread dissemination of copyrighted content. It’s popularity set off an early debate about the relationship between the internet and the traditional music industry. Critics pointed out that Napster was clearly violating copyright. Supporters, however, pointed out that it was unclear whether this was hurting or helping music sales by allowing users to find music online that was not being played on the radio. While Napster was eventually shut down, its effect on the music industry continues to be felt. Albums are distributed differently, all-you-can-eat music subscriptions have become more powerful, and touring has become more financially important to many artists.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is fair use? internet-class 2016-11-22 | The internet has raised many questions about what it is permissible to do with copyrighted content. A way to anchor these conversations is through the existing legal doctrine offair use. Fair use provides a way to use limited amounts of copyrighted material for certain purposes without acquiring the rights from the copyright owner. Fair use was designed to provide a counterbalance to the significant rights of copyright holders, and to allow important kinds of scholarship and reuse to occur outside of the bounds of copyright law.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is digital rights management (DRM)? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Digital rights management (DRM) is some combination of hardware and software intended to restrict how digital media can be used. The goal is to protect the rights of the copyright holder. For example, DRM might prevent a user from playing a song on a device other than the one it was purchased on—or from sharing that song with a friend. Unfortunately, many attempts at DRM were easily circumvented, and had a tendency to inconvenience consumers. And it has been difficult to create digital protection approaches that align well with our usual expectations about how we can use content that we have purchased.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What are ad blockers? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Wherever there is offense, there is also defense. To fight back against sites full of ads, most modern web browsers allow users to install ad blocking extensions. These extensions try to detect and block content from sites known to serve advertising content. Ad blockers can make browsing the web a much more enjoyable experience. But as more users have installed ad blockers, sites have begun to fight back by either refusing service to or complaining about users with ad blocking software installed. This reflects an economic reality of the modern internet—ads are important source of revenue for many sites that provide free content.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is online advertising? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Ads are an important source of revenue for online content creators and service providers. You’ve probably noticed them before. They appear next to search engine results, on a variety of different social networking sites, and in general litter the information superhighway in a way not dissimilar to the way that billboards litter our literal superhighways. At best, ads are interesting if a bit annoying. At worst, they can cause several usability problems. But the decision of many online sites to offer free content and services has made them increasingly important to funding the internet.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Where does stuff online come from? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Broadly, we can divide stuff online into two categories: free and non-free. And we can divide content creators into two categories: paid and unpaid. Today, a lot (but not all) of the free content comes from unpaid sources—and a lot (but not all) of the non-free content comes from paid sources. Of course, it’s the exceptions to this rule that are interesting and disruptive. It’s also interesting to explore the degree to which crowdsourced content is replacing content created by professionals, and the implications of this shift.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Who was Aaron Swartz? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Aaron Swartz was an internet pioneer. He co-founded Reddit, was active in the open-source software community, co-authored the original RSS specification, and helped lead the protests that stopped the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Unfortunately, Aaron’s hacktivism took a tragic turn. He was arrested for illegally distributing academic journal articles that he gained access to while at MIT. Facing serious criminal charges and in the face of what has been generally considered to be over-zealous prosecution, Aaron chose to end his own life.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is a remix? internet-class 2016-11-22 | As a distribution system for digital media, the internet has supported the rise of remix culture—sometimes known as read-write culture. In contrast to read-only culture, where users are passive consumers of content, read-write culture encourages users to engage with content by creating derivative works. Remixes can take many forms, but a familiar one in the idea of sampling snippets from other songs or creating music mashups. Whether these derivations constitute fair use has been the subject of a great deal of debate.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
How is illegal or copyrighted content discovered online? internet-class 2016-11-22 | There’s a constant cat and mouse game going on online. On one hand, people are constantly posting things online that they should not. On the other, other people and search engines are constantly looking for copyrighted content and trying to remove it from websites, blogs, and search results. The process goes on continuously, with no real end in sight.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Remember: good stuff costs money. internet-class 2016-11-22 | As you travel the wealth of free content available online, it’s good to keep in mind a basic tenet of economics that the internet has not been able to change: good stuff costs money. When your favorite band isn’t singing, they need to eat and pay the rent. Ditto for your favorite blogger, v-logger, and other online content creators. The good thing is that the internet has made it easier than ever to support your favorite creators directly, without wasting money on middlemen. So do that. It feels good!Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is the deep web? What is the dark web? internet-class 2016-11-22 | When we talk about online content two terms that come up are the deep anddark web. The deep web is all of the content not found by search engines. This content is frequently invisible because it is behind some kind of authorization system (your email) or trapped in a specialized online ecosystem (large parts of Facebook). But you can access this content using a normal web browser. In contrast, content on the dark web requires special software to access. The dark web contains a lot of content that would be illegal or dangerous to distribute on the public web: drugs, malicious hacking tools, or content released by government whistleblowers.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is web tracking? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Individual sites have always been able to track your internet usage. However, given that ads frequently appear on sites that do not have enough information to personalize them appropriately, advertisers frequently try to track users activity across multiple sites to better personalize ad content. You may not like this web tracking, and there are ways to ask advertisers to stop doing it. On the other hand, you may appreciate seeing more relevant ads on the sites you visit.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What are micropayments? internet-class 2016-11-22 | The revenue model for many online content providers is currently based on advertising. But it doesn’t have to be that way. One alternative is for users to either sign up for subscriptions, but that may only be suitable for frequent—not casual—visitors. Another interesting alternative relies on micropayments. Each time you visit a site, your browser could automatically pay the owner some small amount of money—either with or without prompting the user. Content creators would get paid by users, without having to litter their sites with obtrusive advertising.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What was the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)? internet-class 2016-11-22 | In 2011 the US government tried to enact more sweeping online copyright protections. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would have provided copyright holders with new and more powerful mechanism for restricting access to websites that posted copyrighted content. Ad networks could be prevented from working with infringing sites, search engines could have been forced to remove them from search results, and internet service providers could have been forced to block their users from accessing them. Opponents, however, found many aspects of the bill to criticize, particularly its limits on free speech and the way that it would enable and even require internet censorship. Despite bipartisan support, after online protests led by many prominent websites, the bill was shelved.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What is ad targeting? internet-class 2016-11-22 | Online ads have a significant advantage compared with print and other forms of traditional advertising—they can customize themselves to the viewer. As your browser loads many web pages, ad engines are working to personalize ad content to you. They use your location, your preferences, products that you may have browsed recently, and any other information about you that an advertisers thinks will increase your tendency to click on the ad.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
Introduction to internet content and economics. internet-class 2016-11-22 | Where does all the stuff online come from? And who pays for it? The internet has brought huge changes to decades old models of how things were created and paid for. Important to these changes is the idea of digital representation and copies. Prior to the internet, stealing something meant taking it away from someone else. Now that we can make perfect copies, that is no longer the case. Easy distribution of perfect digital copies has had important positive impacts, including open-source software, creative remixing, self-publishing, and making the overall publishing system much more efficient. Simultaneously, easy distribution of perfect digital copies has created financial problems for creators, disrupted important sources of information, and filled the internet with fake or illegal content. This may be the ultimate Pandora’s box opened by the internet, and we are still far from determining how it will turn out.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://www.bluegroup.systems) production.
What are computers good at that humans are not? internet-class 2016-11-04 | To understand how computers complement us, it’s important to compare our capabilities with theirs. Computers are great at certain things, particularly storing and processing information. Their memories are far better than ours, as is their ability to perform simple mathematical operations. Their speed combined with their storage abilities makes them far better than us at dealing with large amounts of information, and at making split-second decisions.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
What are computers doing to us? internet-class 2016-11-04 | As computers enrich our lives, there is growing evidence that they are also altering the way that we behave—sometimes in negative ways. Our attention span may be dropping as we become more easily distracted. Our ability to store and synthesize data may be decreasing as we rely more on the internet to remember things. Online, algorithms and our own choices may be dividing us into mutually suspicious camps separately by beliefs supported by questionable or selectively-interpreted evidence. Part of our success in taking control over our computer creations is understanding and resisting these transformations.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
Given all the information online, why are we still confused? internet-class 2016-11-04 | One of the early hopes about the internet is that access to large amounts of information would help us make better decisions. And yet, even with more data at our fingertips than ever before, we continue to be confused. We even hold beliefs that are at odds with widely-available information. Unfortunately, additional information has been accompanied with additional misinformation. And, it turns out that it is harder to change our minds than we think.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
Why are computers so distracting? internet-class 2016-11-04 | Computers can be highly distracting. The reasons are related to the design of our two different human attention systems. Humans are hard-wired to both be able to immerse ourselves, and to be able to respond quickly to surprises. Computers—and particularly our mobile devices—provide us with both kinds of stimuli. And this combination can cause us to lose focus of other things that we should be doing, whether it is driving a vehicle or listening to a good friend.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
What are computers and the internet doing for us? internet-class 2016-11-04 | The story of human-computer co-evolution is not all doom and gloom. Computers are helping us and enriching our lives in many ways. Could we explore an unfamiliar city in the same way without the certainty that our smartphone will help us find our way home? Could we maintain relationships with far away friends without email and video chat? Would we remember as much about our lives without our online photo albums and Facebook feeds? And would we ever have the chance to meet and interact with so many different people with different customs and beliefs as we have online? Clearly, computers and the internet are doing a lot for us.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
What are humans good at that computers are not? internet-class 2016-11-04 | To understand how computers complement us, it’s important to compare our capabilities with theirs. Humans still excel at many things that computers struggle with: visual and language processing, high-level planning, decision making. But our most distinctive capabilities are things that may forever lie outside of the realm of even sophisticated artificial intelligence.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
Please, please, please dont text and drive. internet-class 2016-11-04 | Texting and driving is really dangerous. Please stop. You could easily kill yourself, or—worse yet—someone you love.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
Should you use a laptop in class? internet-class 2016-11-04 | One of the more important technology-related decisions you’ll have to make in college is whether to bring and use your laptop to class. Some professors may try to help you make this decision, but most of the time it will be up to you. Like any decision involving technology, there are pros and cons on both sides, and a lot depends on you and how you use the technology—not its presence alone.Credits: Talking: Geoffrey Challen (Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo). Producing: Greg Bunyea (Undergraduate, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo).Part of the internet-class.org online internet course. A blue Systems Research Group (https://blue.cse.buffalo.edu) production.
