Beginning Research ~ 3

Prey takes over your devices to keep thieves under surveillance

Andy Ihnatko recommends a tool that helps recover lost or stolen electronics called "Prey". Prey is a special kind of spyware that lies dormant and never track a device's legitimate user. But when your hardware is stolen, you can remotely activate Prey and it'll begin to invisibly and regularly report the hardware's location, and the thief's activity, back to you. All you have to do once you find out that your electronic had disappeared is leap onto a web browser, access Prey's web-based control panel, mark the device missing, and tell Prey what kind of information you'd like to receive. Ultimately, you'll have enough information to unequivocally prove where your property is and who has it. If you value the privacy of your data over the recovery of your device, Prey can simply render the device inoperable until it receives your remote password. This will, or course, encourage the thief to stop using your device. Nothing can absolutely ensure that you'll get your property back, but your chances are far better with Prey installed. Prey has one operational weakness however: you need to actually install the software while the device is still in your physical possession. Is pRey safe? Andy Ihnatko is convinced that Prey is about as safe as this kind of tool can be, given that the software is designed to secretly do things and to evade detection. Because it's been scrutinized, potential weaknesses have been identified, opening a controversy about how it works. The concern is not really that Prey could do something to harm your system or your privacy (which technically it could if there was a problem), but that a third party could exploit these weaknesses to attack your system. Therefore, like with almost all technology available, Prey has its own pros and cons open for debate. 

Info found at: www.suntimes.com

Andy Ihnatko

Beginning Research ~ 2

Technology:
The big hammer of SOPA, PIPA will only crush Internet freedom

Andy Ihnatko reflects about the controversy that sprung up about the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) through the House of Representatives and the Senate. There is lots of ager targeted at SOPA and PIPA. However, outrage against SOPA and PIPa shouldn't sweep aside the obvious ethical, legal, and monetary problems inherent in content piracy. These Acts are mostly designed to deal with sites that are outside of US jurisdiction. They 'just want the same legal tools for fighting digital piracy as other industries have for physical piracy.' The down side is, that copyright holders could then issue a court order that simply makes the offending foreign website invisible to any user in America. Free-speech sites would no longer be able to continue. No more Wikipedia. No more Google. There are both up sides and down sides to these Acts. Many incidents demonstrate how easily powers like these can be abused to control speech on the Internet. SOPA and PIPA have been making progressively- denser stinks over the past couple months as more and more people have examined it and seen how poorly built and over-reaching they are. If the success of the Internet can be attributed to one basic principle it's this: information should move freely from one place to another without restrictions. Many people believe that SOPA and PIPA, not only are over reacting and restricting freedoms, they are most likely not even realistic. They might be able to help stop piracy to a certain extent, but would never be able to completely prevent it. 

Andy Ihnatko

Beginning Research

Technology:
Texting and the textbook revolution.

Eric Zorn writes about a new textbook revolution in his column. iBooks 2 has created a digital textbook service for the ipad that is going to change school textbook policies all over the US. "The computer giant aims to replace school textbooks -- often unconscionably heavy and usually outdated the minute they're published -- with interactive e-books optimized for the company's iPad tablet." He argues that although printed books are most likely to "survive", textbooks no longer have a chance if on the ipad. Not only would it be extremely convenient, there would no longer be a reason to drag textbooks around and there would be no more worries about how outdated they are. After all, both students and parents alike are against textbooks because of many reasons. Of course, the price of ipads can be troubling, plus the fact that children are likely to loose or break them. However, Zorn has confidence the school districts will somehow find a way around these issues. The true challenge will be dealing with the distractions an ipad brings. So the problem is not going to get children to adjust to tablets, but to pry them away. 

Info found at: www.chicagotribune.com

Eric Zorn

Columnists Ahoy! ~ Synthesis

From reading some of Dawn Trice's columns, it can be observed that she focuses on community outreach and the positives of society. From the story of the death midwife who worked hard to make life easier for older people, to the abused pit bull who got saved and in return helped her owned through a battle with cancer, and then later reflecting about the founder of WeFarm who made a resolution to help troubled communities grow closer together through organic farming. Often times in the news all we find are negative announcements, yet for the most part Trice chooses the road less traveled by in order highlight the positives. Although we might face obstacles in our lives, she continues to remind us in her columns that you just need to have hope and you will make it through. Roberta Miller and Sweetie Grace, the pit bull, both faced obstacles that would test their limits, but with each other's friendship they both conquered them. "It's a story of how sometimes the obstacles one has to go through to get to the right place can be just plain torture," Miller said. "But then sometimes you can come out on the other side." Both Ana Blechschmidt, the death midwife, and Seneca Kern, the founder of WeFarm, worked to improve people's lives and help them through their own obstacles. Trice focuses on the aspects of community and unity, both conveyed in her columns. She is a columnist who is realistic, yet also finds a "silver lining" in even the most seemingly devastating circumstances. 

Columnists Ahoy! ~ 5

WeFarm America co-founder creates fertile ground for organic gardens, ideas

Dawn Turner Trice talks about Seneca Kern's New Year's resolution to expand WeFarm and push to teach people in urban, often embattled, communities to create gardens so they can eat better. "Seneca Kern is the co-founder of the Chicago-based WeFarm America. His sign off on emails is 'Love and Peas.' It's not corny, it's classic Kern." Through farming he hopes to bring troubled communities closer together and lower the crime rates, while at the same time benefiting the people through healthy lifestyles with organic food. Through inexpensive organic gardening he is making a difference one community at a time. Kern also works as a community outreach coordinator for the  program called Growing Home, a nonprofit that teaches people who have trouble getting employment how to grow organic foods. This organization  helps participants get jobs. He recollects one community he helped that had a drug problem and how it transformed with the addition of a large community garden, everyone learning to share and build connections. This New Year he reminds everyone that even the small things make a difference. 'I just believe in the spirit of the community, and that's all of us bringing to the table what we do best.'

Dawn Turner Trice

Info found at: www.chicagotribune.com