Journal Entry 3

Tuesday 6 October 2015

• “Free” doesn’t mean “without cost” in the context of free software. (And if you really think about it, even if it is without cost, it’s possible that it’s still not free- it could contain adware, malware, viruses, etc.)
• Linux was free for software admins to install/use; however, they had to spend a lot of time in upkeep/maintenance because there was no professional support term/service contract. This “support team” business model provides an opportunity for an ethical dilemma- if companies are selling their services as a support team for a product they’ve developed, it’s in their best interests to make a product that is “ok”- functions "properly", but will still require the customer to pay for the company’s support services.
• MIT didn’t use password because the developers didn’t want to develop the locks that sys admins could use to control users. But is that what passwords really are? In a close-to-perfect world would there still be passwords? I contend that there would be. Passwords are not just restrictive in the “bad” sense- they can prevent users that don’t know what they’re doing from making mistakes/errors that could affect others. Also, passwords can help keep honest people honest.

Thursday 8 October 2015

• A program is “free” if users of the program have these freedoms:
• Freedom to run programs as desired for any purpose
• Freedom to study how the program works and change it so it does desired computing (access to source code is precondition)
• Freedom to redistribute copies
• Freedom to distribute copies of modified versions
• In regards to a program being “free” it is said that all other software is “unethical.” I wholeheartedly disagree- in what other industry are people expected to give away their work free of charge? In an ideal society where everything was free yet people still worked as hard as if it wasn’t, perhaps then “non-free” software would be unethical, but until then “non-free” software is ethical.
• Patents: right to exclude, not right to practice. Basically a right to sue. How much time and energy is wasted because of greed? The world would be a lot better place if people could work on things and be rewarded for their honest efforts without needing to go through all the legal hassle that surrounds basically anything worth inventing.
• Copyleft: you can use, copy, redistribute etc.; however, you must include the license and distribute your changes. While copyleft may have the right idea, it probably stops a lot of very talented people from working on copyleft projects because they don’t want to surrender the rights to their enhancements on copyleft products (or even creation of new products using copyleft elements).

Tuesday 13 October 2015

• A problem with IP is that there are patent portfolio holding companies where the focus is on litigation. Such companies hinder the growth and development of the human race. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels a bit more hesitant to go out and invent/sell something the more I learn about the processes/laws in place to protect inventions (hesitant because someone who has already invented something close to what I’ll invent may be able to sue me for selling something too close to their invention).
• Some IP rights are also unethical- such as a company which forces employees to sign a “we own everything you make while you work for us” agreement before employees are hired. Such agreements may “protect” the company, but they do so at the expense of the human race- stifling creativity and squashing innovation that would likely be present if employees knew they could keep the rights to their inventions.
• Non-compete clauses are generally a good idea; however, they can also be overly restrictive. If a company abuses/under appreciates an employee, his/her job opportunities should not be limited due to the fact that a company he/she would like to work for is involved in “some aspect of business” that the abusive company is involved in.

Thursday 15 October 2015

• A lot of what we know about medical conditions comes from experiments performed in Nazi concentration camps. Is it ethical to use such data? I see both sides of the argument. On one side, the people that were tortured/killed in the camps gave their lives (albeit unwillingly) to provide the medical data. I’d like to think that if I were in such a position and then given the ability to choose whether or not the information on my death could be used to help others in the future, I’d choose that it could be used. On the other side, if this data is used it indirectly encourages such methods of obtaining the data.
• Great advancements often come at a great price. Part of the “cost” of nuclear power was hundreds of thousands of people dying in Japan. Was the cost worth it? I’d recon that the hundreds of thousands that died (and their families) would contend that it isn’t worth it; however, the many people who have benefited from the nuclear energy (and those that didn’t die because the war ended shortly after the nuclear bombs were used) would contend that it is worth it. I wish advancement came without a price, but I'm grateful for the advancement of nuclear power.
• Locks and passwords may not be necessary, but they help keep honest people honest. I agree, even in a perfect world, locks would be nice- if only to ensure that very intelligent pets didn’t run away, or small children (or even grown adults) didn’t wander in to locations of physical or electronic danger.

Tuesday 20 October 2015

• Many of the laws we have today came about as a result of crimes. So, are we better off with or without the laws? I’d say we’re better off with the laws, though it would be nice if we could come up with them before crimes were committed.
• Many criticize individuals in The Cuckoo’s Egg for not choosing stronger passwords. Criticize as they will- many weak passwords are used today? How secure are the passwords you use? I’d like to say mine are secure, but I know that I have room for improvement and shouldn’t mock those in The Cuckoo’s Egg with weak passwords.
• John Walker received life in prison, but was that harsh enough for the crimes he committed? Are the punishments for crimes in general harsh enough in the USA? I contend that often they are not. Many criminals live in more enjoyable conditions than regular citizens. I contend that punishments should be harsher and believe that if punishments were harsher, individuals would be more hesitant to commit crimes.