¶ … input/output devices will you be using in the next one to three years as "computing" devices? Which features/components/form factors will be prominent? Why? Which features/components/form factors will be important to you? Why? Which applications will you be using on these devices? How may these devices change your life in terms of benefits and risks? (Two pages)

A survey of experts identified five major themes that will carry forward through the next half century ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Increased computation and bandwidth is the first of these themes ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). This notion that there will be computation and bandwidth to burn means that the shift of computing power and network connectivity will move from one end of the spectrum to the other -- there will be utter and unimaginable abundance of computing and networking capacity ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Experts predict that people living in developed countries will have gigabit Internet access ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Moreover, they argue that massive parallel-processing computers will be mainstream as consumer appetite for speed and the ability to access many sites at once is both huge and relentless ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). The second major theme is sensory transformation, which takes machine (computer) learning a step further, enabling technology to think ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). The third major trend is lightweight infrastructure, which will utilize centralized power distribution, fiber-optic networks, and other gigantic, complex, and hugely expensive projects ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). On a smaller scale, RFID technology continues to grow and it appears that consumer electronics will have integrated software-defined radio ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). The fourth theme is small world, which points to nanotechnology that is so small that it can be integrated into biosystems and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). The last major theme mentioned here is extending biology, which refers to a wide and deep array of innovative technologies, including bioinformatics and genetic engineering, which can be applied to reshape existing life forms and to create new ones ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012).

Considering all of these innovative technological trends at once is overwhelming ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). My initial observation is that I enjoy being able to conduct my tasks more efficiently and conveniently -- these are two major attractions of advanced technology for me personally ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Not very imaginative, but it is the day-to-day concern that presses forward as long as other life events don't threaten that stability ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). That said, I will focus on one innovation that could have remarkable impact on my ability to utilize computers and the internet ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Hewlett-Packard announced the development of a wireless data chip that is tinier than a rice grain, and will beat out the RFID chips with their capability of self-identification ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). The new microchip is only 2 to 4 millimeters square and is a CMOS device with a built-in antenna in the silicon ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). It is much faster than the RFID chips and has lightening-fast data access with writable memory ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). How might this CMOS chip be relevant to my life? Medical records for my family and for me could all be stored on a wristband that we wear when we are traveling or when we are just out and about in the community ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Our identity cards and passports can be supported by these new chips ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). We can speed along on our way through security checkpoints and enabling us to bank with relative ease when we are traveling ("EEEE Spectrum," 2012). Imagine, the chip is so small that it is called the Memory Spot and it can take the form of a small, self-adhesive dot that holds as much as half a megabyte of data.

With all that impressive and overwhelming information, I retreat to the idea of augmented reality on my mobile phone. I have a lot of fun with the QR code reader and I can just imagine what improvements in this technology will bring. Today, I am able to read the QR code for just about anything I want to buy and see the competitors prices for the item. Tomorrow, I might be able to read a QR code for a dentist, say, to see how his patients rate him, or read a QR code on a package containing an ace bandage that shows me a video of therapeutic exercises for different types of injuries for which a person might purchase an ace bandage.

____. (2012). EEEE Spectrum Retrieved http://spectrum.ieee.org/semiconductors/design/imagining-the-future-of-technology

(02). You have seen how digital technology like YouTube allows people to easily create mashups...

Do you think the law should allow these kinds of creative expressions? Why?
How can creative culture of user generated content be revived? Why is it important? Or not?

Is Creative Commons good for copyright holders and market competition? Why? Or not?

How should these intellectual property rights of people who create images, videos, and music be protected? Why is it necessary?

Should digital rights management (DRM) technologies be utilized? Why?

The idea of stopping the sharing of creative content and information online is like stopping a moving train by standing on the tracks and waving a white handkerchief. Too many forces are in play and the stakeholder group is very large for any simple solutions to be generated. At issue is property law and intellectual property. The financial investments in the creation of music, videos, academic materials, and literature can be enormous. Obviously, copyright laws and intellectual property laws were created to protect those investments. Yet, there appears to be a wholesale disregard for property rights that extend to anything that is in digital format.

I don't at all think that user-generated content is the problem. The term user-generated implies that the creative source of the content is the user, and not some other person. It is important not to confuse the adulteration of someone else's creative efforts as user-generated content.

The Creative Commons system imposes a certain degree of order on the sharing of content in digital format, and it also promotes a collective agreement with regard to what can or ought to be shared. The idea behind systems like Creative Commons is to enable the masses to make good use of information that is shared rather than restricting access only to those who can afford to purchase it. Particularly in the academic arena, information is increasingly being "locked up" by aggregators and middle manager companies that make it their business to disseminate information -- for a price. Increasingly, academic information is available only to students who are matriculated in educational institutions. With the lion's share of research occurring online and not in libraries, it seems that convenience has been traded for access to quality information. The proliferation of information available online does not mean that the information is of good quality, and this poses problems for the new literacies that are enormous in magnitude.

It does seem that the technology to protect digital information is available, or if it is in rough form, the time until such protections can be widely available does not seem to be too far in the future. This is important because file-sharing networks have made conventional copyright law obsolete and irrelevant. The cost of piracy extends not only to the immediate lost revenue, but to the future development of products. The research and development expenses becomes sunk cost when piracy occurs -- it cannot be retrieved or made up for by the companies who invested the money to produce and distribute the digital content. Everyone who breaks copyright law on the Internet cannot be sued -- it is impractical and would be prohibitively expensive in terms of legal prosecution costs and attempts to collect on successful litigation. The fair use doctrine of copyright law may have reached a natural termination point as it now enables illegal action and not just the acceptable convenience and personal use applications for which it was established. Further, computer programs that are designed to protect against piracy generally cannot consider fair use provisions. The latest DRM programs are able to control all the activities that a user would initiate with regard to digital content. DRM programs can control whether digital content is viewed, copied, printed, shared, and altered. There are three levels to a digital rights management system, as follows: The digital rights management program: (1) Establishes the content copyright, (2) manages the distribution of the content that has been copyrighted, and (3) controls the capability of consumer action once the content has been distributed to the consumer.

The DRM problem looms large for libraries and academic institutions since it takes away their ability to control archived information and restricts the way that they can lend digital content. The debates about digital rights management continue to focus on privacy, fair use, and technological innovation. The ultimate goal will be to benefit users as much as possible without foregoing the protections necessary to ensure…