Monday, December 9, 2013
TWIF Flattener #3 - Work Flow Software
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-spring2014.blogspot.com/2013/12/approved-sources-for-twif-current.html to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that work flow software was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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In memoriam: Inventor of the automatic cash machine
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pri.org/stories/2010-06-03/memoriam-inventor-automatic-cash-machine
This article relates to TWIF in the area of machines and the invention of newer technology. In TWIF, it states that machines and technology was created to make work easier for everybody. The article gives an important example of creating technology to make work easier. In the article, it states that the man who created an ATM was frustrated. He was frustrated because the day before, he had went to the bank to get money. When he went for money the bank was closed and he didn't get his money. He thought it was a very good idea to make an ATM, which is an automated way of getting money out of your bank account. This allows people to get their money easier. This article relates to TWIF because it give an example of the advancing technology and gives an example of a machine that was made to make work easier.
Overstock.com sees new Market in Bitcoins
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/business/overstockcom-sees-new-market-in-bitcoins/2014/01/20/aae1ea46-8212-11e3-a273-6ffd9cf9f4ba_story.html
This article is all about how Overstock.com has decided to accept Bitcoins as a form of payment. Once the customer pays, the Bitcoins are transferred into the dollar amount that the item would have cost them. Instead of using actually money and having to have the long process of paper money payment, the website is able to convert it into a direct payment. This relates to Friedman's idea because the article is an example of how peoples standards have made the work flow continue to advance. It also relates to the example Thomas Friedman uses with eBay and the PayPal system. The article was an example of how work flow advanced and how the website could be able to get its information to any type of computer that wanted to use the site in order to buy something.
How Do Game Companies Share Massive Files?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25037653
During video game development, developers in various places must work with large files, so a question arises: how do they manage to share these enormous files between each other? This is just what this article covers. It explains that some companies use a cloud, which would be considered uploading, to easily share parts of files with each other, but the article also discusses a more unique method that beginning developers use because they cannot afford large cloud services. This method is using BitTorrent's free product called BitTorrent Sync. BitTorrent Sync, using peer-to-peer technology, can share data and files directly between PCs. This is much quicker than uploading because the files are split up into chunks of encrypted data, and then these chunks are sent to everyone who is in a group. These chunks that are sent can be from any computers that are in the same group as the receiving computer, so, essentially, the receiving computer may be receiving parts of a file from multiple computers, thus increasing the speed at which the file is received. This process relates to Friedman's third flattener, "Work Flow Software," because BitTorrent Sync permits computers to connect to computers such as protocols did. It is not just this simple fact that makes them similar, but it's their uses. Protocols were used to transfer e-mails and data which, at the time, seemed incredible. BitTorrent Sync seems to build upon this. It connects multiple computers together so that they can transfer data, but, at the same time, it is drastically improving the speed in which computers receive the data. The time it takes to upload large files is removed, for the computers of a company share the data directly with the others.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-07-16/why-china-could-become-next-big-innovation-hub
ReplyDeleteThis article is about Yeogirl Yun, a graduate student from Stanford, who started his own shopping search engine company in Shanghai with search technology he created. Right now, China has technology but not innovation. He is sure that eventually China is going to be the country where companies like his will make money. Small companies in China holding their own against American companies because they have the technology and innovation, taught in the U.S., needed to be successful. Friedman states that people want to do more with computers and are always trying to come up with new software and other programs to make their lives better. Also, Friedman says that small businesses are now able to do anything that larger businesses can because everyone has access to all of the software and programs. This article goes with Friedman’s argument that work flow software flattens the world because everyone has access to all of the software, making everyone empowered.