Charity and technology

"If you have no charity, ye are nothing,..." applies in social networking that each person is supported by love from others. Why do users post something funny and send a message to someone in the famous social networking like Facebook and Twitter? This is mostly because they want to pay attention that someone like their posts or comments. That's how they feel good and love about themselves, and they will start liking other's posts. Charity creates a wonderful society that users get to respect and honest each other in networking, and technology helps users share their charity with those who they love regardless of how far they live. Humans deserve more charity by others to build confidence about themselves, and technology aids with it.

Twitter during general conference

The most interesting thing for me as the first time user is a limited amount of character entry for input. After listening to President Monson's speech, it inspired me to share the long quote he used in Twitter, but it was required for me to summarize his quote and my thoughts because of limited amount of character entry. It's positive about the limitation because it is effective and easy for other users to read and quickly comment back. Also, it is useful for users who need a summarized message or an important message from each speaker. Twitter is a capable tool for me to access an unique community where users can share their thoughts and perspective about an event.  

If we die tomorrow, ...?

 The most universal regret dying patients expressed was that they wished they had spent more time with the people they love. If I would die tomorrow, I would have felt the same thing what they expressed. The earth life is a very short time from eternal perspective. It's time to rethink our priority and how much time we have spent with our beloved one rather than just go with flow of life spending much time playing TV game, facebook, and easily addicted materials. We can change ourselves and start treasuring up something in heaven not under the ground of earth where moth will eat. 

Literary Extravaganza Assignment

1. Haiku
What a heck!
My program is not working...
Ouch, the file was unsaved before running.

2. Poem
In computer science class,
I see a beautiful woman sitting in my side
Her smile is like an angels wings
A diamond sparkling on her ring finger...
Guess I'm in wrong major if I want to get married.

3. Short story
One day, I named a variable, "Single" in my program. The variable was stuck in infinite loop. I guessed I would be single forever.

Video Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QET8KTOaWQ&feature=youtu.be

Human needs community to support each other

The story of the "Pro-Anna" girls as example from the book "Here Comes Everybody" moved me. The story shows the new possibility for people who find themselves in a minority. Without internet, the "Pro-Anna" girls might feel alone themselves because they might be teased and criticized in public. The example shows what is now possible for people who find themselves in minority, who want to share applied information for them, and who live in social settings that are unhelpful to their objectives. Now, these people can have access to community what they need. The book changed my perspective of the Internet and helped me realize that it creates an important community allowing people to approach to the most essential of human needs.

Powerful technology in church

Mormon.org has been launched since few years ago, and the features on the website amazed me. It contains video portraying the life of a member and a family and testimonies from members in the world. This recalled me of Matthew 5:13 saying, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good work, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Once a member shares an good example and testimony like shining her or his light before men, maybe this inspires people who are looking for the gospel and heal less active members. It's a great opportunity for us to share our testimonies for those who need and hear while we have such a powerful technology. Technology will be a great advantage if we do something with it.

Is OS X better than Windows and Linux?

When I was studying and looking around at the BYU library, I realized most students were keeping company with Mac. Actually, most of my friends said, "Mac is the best! Mac never crashes and always prevent viruses." I started to be suspicious that OS X is always better than any other operation system. I read several articles saying that OS X is not vulnerable to viruses as Windows is and OS X can crash just as frequently as a Windows. People should stop buying Mac for only reason why it always prevent viruses and never crashes because viruses always exist, and there is no hacker proof or virus proof system yet. However, there is a excellent software called "Fincal Cut Pro" that Windows does not have, so it is important for them to be not gullible with others and select the right operation system depending what they need.

It's time to get advantage of technology in family history work

In my studies with D&C 128:14-18, Joseph Smith taught us the following principles about an importance of baptism for the dead from part of family history work. 1. the salvation of our dead ancestors is "essential to our salvation." 2. Baptism for the dead is the "most glorious of all subjects belonging to the everlasting gospel." 3. Baptism for the dead helps to prevent the earth from being smitten with a curse. The first principle explains that our lives are closely tied to our ancestors' lives, and it's impossible for us to become perfect without them. Also, it's impossible for ancestors to be perfect without us. The second principle represents that the Lord shows the love and mercy to make it possible for all of us including ancestors and those who did not know gospel to receive the same blessings, and be judged on the same terms. The third principle defines that the whole work of God will fail and be wasted without a welding link between the fathers and the children which is by the work for the dead and sealing. We can imagine that we can't be a perfect, and His work will be nothing without the family history work. Currently, we have a beautiful technology in our lives, and some of us including me tend to procrastinate finding our ancestors using the technology because it's too much of hassle to learn the way to use the family history website like ancestry.com. Come on! We are CS people. Compared to the past, it's much easier and more effective to find our ancestors because some of our ancestors could connect with ancestors from others online. It's time to start playing with the family history website!

Illegal copying destroys life of artists

Recently, my friend asked me a good question about the illegal copying. He said, "Isn't it bad to download a copy of music on a website that distributes illegal copies because it's the same with borrowing CD from other friend and downloading albums from the CD on iTune? " It was hard for me to answer the question, but I recall one news story that happened in Japan. The news said that illegal copies were spreading throughout Japan, and many music industries went bankrupt. Artists are seriously poor because they can't earn enough money for their lives. It's time to think about the lives of artists rather than deciding whether a method of copying is illegal or not. When you really like an artist, you just buy a CD with his album. It costs only 15 bucks. After you buy it, the life of the artist will be better, and the artist can have more opportunity to be creative and exciting with a new song and style. The more we support them by paying the full price of their albums, the better music we will get in the future.

Crowd-sourced Sign Language Dictionary

A cofounder at a company called ShuR, Junto Ohki has developed the world's first crowd-sourced online dictionary for language, SLinto. The purpose of this project is to assist us create the world where communication is made much more simple and easier for sign language speakers. This project is extremely interesting for me as a sign language speaker. In this project, the crowed-sourced online dictionary for sign language attracts signers allows the capacity of uploading unlimited information like new signs for new words and slang to the archive. With the information, hearing people able to find a sign for a word with the keyboard that shows a video clip of the sign. Because of the IT technology we have, more accessibility and opportunity are provided for us to share and increase our knowledge.    

Small things lead big issues

Currently, our personal information have been shared for useful purpose widely in network, and the war between hacker and security have continued. From the book, The Cuckoo's Egg, even something small like a 75 cent accounting error lead to bigger problems. The accounting error of this 75 cent from a small computer lab led to the tracking of cheating behavior. In our lives, sometimes small amount of money like one dollar is charged from unknown person or company in our banks. We have had a tendency to ignore it, but it would lead to a great issue that our personal information including social security number could be misused with the stolen bank account from unethical behavior. It's time to protect with firm shields from arrows of hackers. Three things make our shields get stronger. First, we must use highly secured passwords using capital letters, numbers and other symbols for our computer systems. Second, we must keep logs of important information to back-track information against cheating behavior. Third, we must be sensitive with small errors on our computers. The error might show the warning of being hacked or something serious. It's time to apply three things to protect our personal information in order to feel safe and happy about using computer.

Women can do anything!

Currently, most women felt hesitate to participate in computer science program with two main reasons. One reason is that they don't want to be judged as "tom boy" or "geek" easily because they have to play with boy toy, computer in this program. Another reason is that they might feel overwhelmed with excessive requirements of willingness to think and confidence to press forward through trivial problems. However, women can do anything! Women and men are equal, and women have capabilities to accomplish things men do. Just women need to feel supportive from faculties and classmates because the way to encourage oneself between women and men is different and unique. If supposing both men and women have a unsolvable bug in a coding project, men have a tendency to have a flippant response of the small failure and press forward to next project. On the other hand, women may feel discouraged or disappointed with the failure because their hearts are easily hurt. It does not mean that women are weak. Women's heart is sensitive enough to be able to be thought of others and helpful for those who need. It's beautiful. Men don't have the kind of heart. More women will feel free to participate in computer science program when faculties and classmates show more friendly and supportive for them to work as team to survive in this program.  

Let's teach kids to code

Most of us think that only smart children can learn the coding, but Michael Bloomberg provided a tool on website called Scratch for them to learn the coding effectively through making games, Mother's day cards, etc. He stated that coding would enable them to develop not only skills of thinking creatively, reasoning systematically, working collaboratively, but also the way to express their ideas and feelings in their lives. Currently, young people are very comfortable and familiar browsing and chatting and texting and gaming. However, they have not developed the way of creativity or expression with new technologies. From my experience, I loved playing games when I was a kid. While playing, I made up cool ideas and visions of game. However, I had no idea how to express my ideas and visions with new technologies. I wish the website, Scratch was released in those days, so that I could have learned the way to express my idea. As developing new technologies always, it's best opportunity for children learn the coding. Why don't you show the website, Scratch to your children? http://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code.html

We need 21 billion hours of game play every week for a better world

One positive opinion about online gaming was found after my research. Jane McGonigal stated that gaming can make a better world.  The epic story that happened 2,500 years ago she shared was interesting. A cool game controller was designed from sheep's knuckles. In those days, ancient people played dice with sheep's knuckles as a controller. The dice game was invented in the kingdom of Lydia during a time of famine, and Greek historian Herodotus invented the game and helped people forget their hungers caused from famine. It is true. In my experience, I could forget the pain feelings or stress from being broken up with my ex-girlfriend after playing a game. Gaming can help us not obsessed with our negative feelings.

Also, she shared another cool fact that gamers are learning the way to survive in the real world when the oil runs out. They are playing the game called "World Without Oil." The game gives them real-time news, videos, data feeds that show them exactly how much oil costs, what's not available, how food supply is being affected, etc. It's quite interesting, and such a simulation gaming can help us how to cooperate with people and prepare for the future disaster. 

She shared many other positive facts about the online gaming. If you are interested in, you should read it! Please let me know what do you think about the article. Agree or disagree?

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

Live with questions

In devotional, Michael Wesch emphasized about living with questions in our lives. The story of a guy making a car running with only water applied to my life. The guy spent his time and effort on his education to make the cool car. He had a lot of questions how to achieve his dream, and he researched, asked a professor, and made an experiment. As a result, he failed it, but he felt satisfied because he still increased his knowledge about a car and used the precious time for the project that could lead to change the world. All of us are still not perfect and learning something new every day. It's a beautiful thing that Heavenly Father wants us to be like Him closer day by day. It's important for us to seek an answer for our questions with the full of enjoyment not complaints.

Every man is his own worst enemy in using technologies

Technological change is the part of God's plan. The purpose of God is to bring to pass the eternal life of His children (see Moses 1:39), and the prophecy about the gospel spreading throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people (see Mosiah 3:20) have been fulfilled today with effective and proper use of technologies. However, there are some harmful influence in our lives caused by technology changes like pornography, idleness, etc. Those harmful influence are still our trials in God's plan. The trial is greatly beneficial for us to get closer to Savior because we can recognize our idleness or mistake, do self-examination, and set a goal for the better control with ourselves. Every man is his own worst enemy in using technologies. Our choice decides if technologies are beneficial or harmful. Recently, many people have suffered from an addiction of gaming. The attractive battle system and beautiful graphics in the gaming can be one reason for the addiction, but they got an addiction by themselves after all. Each day, they lose themselves and implant a bad seed representing a bad choice in their hearts. The seed grows by repeating the same mistake and makes a rose with thrones clinging on their hearts representing an addiction. In technological change, it's important for us to strengthen our mind, heart, and control to make a good choice. Technological change is the part of God's plan and one of our trials to improve ourselves to become like God with our agencies.