Something I Learned During an EOTO Presentation

 So, I am sitting here in class. Waiting to present my short topic on USB Flash Drives. And I am watching other groups present. So, what is a topic I learned about? Besides the fact that there is a kid named Brad who is a zoomer, has photos of his dad, and doesn't like newspapers. He also can't read German. I mean neither can I so...OMG WHY IS HE SHOWING ME A PICTURE OF BATMAN WITHOUT EARS! HOW IS THAT RELATED? Ok, lets get back on topic. 

THE WIRED AND WIRELESS TELEGRAPH - Presented By Elliot Baratto

    So Elliot is teaching us about the telegraph. He started off by showing us an absolute brick of a smartphone, made by the Energizer Battery topic. He wants to show us how we got here. So we went all the way back to the 1800's, where we learned about the creation of Morse Code. (It was created by Samuel F.B. Morse). So apparently, the telegraph was just an incredibly, INCREDIBLY long wire, that spread between two telegraphs. Samuel Morse had gotten Congress' help to get this built. He eventually sent the first message, via morse code on a telegraph: "what hath God wrought". 

    Eventually, Elliot moved on to teaching us about the Wireless Telegraph. Which apparently, requiers teh Electromagnetic Spectrum. It was theorized to exist by James Maxwell, and later discovered by Heinrich Hertz when he sent sparks from one side of the room to another. But way later, Guglielmo Marconi created the wireless telegraph, and filed a patent for the device. It still required morse code to communicate, as the human voice was not able to be registered on the Electromagnetic Spectrum. But for now, there was a wireless way of communicating long distances! Pretty impressive. 

The USB Flash Drive

Photo by Brittanica.com

    The USB flash drive. One of the most convenient and useful forms of technology. In this digital age, cloud storage is widely available, and very cheap, if not altogether free. (I appreciate you Google Drive) But sometimes, it can bring a lot of relief to have a physical backup of all your documents. The USB Flash drive is a perfect tool to keep your files private, store travel documents, or even to store apps and games! And thanks to Trek 2000 International, you can. 

Trek 2000 International

   Trek 2000 International is a Singaporean company, and was established in 1989. They have become a technology industry leader, who provide "state-of-the-art design solutions ranging from Mobile Media Solutions, Wireless, Anti-piracy, Compression and Encryption to sophisticated Enterprise Solutions" that all cater to the fast changing digital industry that is in today's age. Trek 2000 International also has various trademarks. Trek® and ThumbDrive® are both trademarks that the company has registered, and they have been licensed in Singapore, the United States, China, India, and various other countries. Along with its trademarks, Trek built up a sizable patent portfolio. The company was granted nearly 300 patents in the nations it targeted in 2002 for its ThumbDrive® USB Flash drive solution. These patents cover technology solutions related to wireless, USB, anti-piracy, compression, security, and centralized management systems. Trek, being a publicly traded company, has implemented a practical intellectual property strategy to guarantee that its patents generate extra profits for the corporation.

“One of our key patent strategies is to ensure that the patent is commercially viable and this is done before we even embark on filing the patent.  After all, there is no point in spending the resources to patent a technology, if it cannot be sold. There is also no point patenting something just for the patent’s sake. Once the green light is given, we then bring in our patent attorneys,” said Mr Henn Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Trek. Sourced from Intellectual Property Office of Singapore - Web archive.org 

Why the Flash Drive is Important to the World

    The USB flash drive is a key invention in contemporary computing, providing small-sized storage possibilities that have entirely transformed how we access, save, and even transport data. Its convenience and adaptability allows for people and companies to easily carry large amounts of information in their pockets, which is why it is so important and useful. USB flash drives are becoming a necessary tool in many areas of life, such as education, business, and personal computing, because they make file transfers between devices simple, and they may even be used as a portable backup solution. Its influence goes beyond practicality; in a world growing more interconnected by the day, it makes effective data sharing, teamwork, and mobility possible. Especially back in the 2000's, when cloud services were not around. Additionally, the USB flash drive has been significant in closing the technological divide by offering accessible storage options to areas with poor internet access. In general, the relevance of this technology rests in its capacity to provide users with effective data management tools, hence promoting worldwide productivity, creativity, and connectedness.

Privacy

    Do you think our information is safe? That we actually have private lives? Well I am gonna go ahead and say we don't. I watched a few videos from TED Talk, all focusing on different forms of privacy. 

One video talked about how easily social media and the content you post can watch you, and contained warnings. Another talked about license plate scanners, and the information they collect on the public. A third talked about how easily your phones can be monitored, and how they are easily compromised. And the fourth talked about a different, scarier form of privacy: digital domestic violence. All of these are invasions of our individual privacy. I do not like the idea of any of this, and I wish that we could live more secure lives in this age of technology. But unfortunately, I do not believe it is possible

How do these issues affect me? My friends? My Family?

    I find it scary how much information can be found about me, if someone were to really try. A quick google information reveals so much about me. You find a social media page, my high school senior portrait, school information of everywhere I have been, and a website that contains so much information on me and my family members. Unfortunately, one of the only things it got wrong was my age. But maybe that is for the better. I despise this, and unfortunately, I do not know what to do about it. I try and do as much as I can to keep my information private, but when I found this website at the top of the google results page, I do not know what I can do about it. It scares me.

What should the government be doing about these issues?

    To me, a better question is: what can the government do about these issues? The many websites I found were of public information, and they are not government regulated. Sure, the government has their own data, but (as far as I am aware) they do not make that information of regular citizens available to the public. All the information collected is from all over the internet. Anything you might sign up for will track you. So when I ask what the government should do? I would suggest anything that can regulate companies that track you, and preventing them from publishing your information. 

What can we do to protect ourselves from the invasion of privacy?

    Unfortunately, I no longer know what can be done to protect ourselves and our private information. I thought I was doing a good job. I don't post on social media, and I only have accounts in order to view others. I believe that having a minimal presence on the internet, especially on social media platforms, is the first step that should be taken. After that, you need to figure out how much information is actually out there about yourself. Then you can work to take all of that down, by finding out where it may be coming from. Protect yourselves. Stay private. 

The United States Supreme Court

I have watched a video on the US Supreme Court, as well as read an article, and now have some questions that I want to go over regarding them. They go as follows:

• What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?
• What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court
• What was the most surprising thing you learned?
• How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court?

So, lets go over this information, and talk about what I have learned. But first,

The Supreme Court of the United States (or SCOTUS) is the highest federal court in the country and the head of the judicial branch of government. Established by the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court has the ultimate jurisdiction over all laws within the United States and is responsible for evaluating the constitutionality of those laws. If necessary, the court, which is currently made up of nine justices, has the power to check the actions of the other two branches of government—the executive branch of the president and the legislative branch of Congress. (Supreme Court, History.com)

What did you learn about the Supreme Court that you didn't already know?

    So I read the History.com article, and watched some videos on the Supreme Court. A fact I did not know, is that "For more than 100 years after the foundation of the Supreme Court, the justices were required to hold circuit court twice a year in each judicial circuit—a grueling duty (given the primitive travel methods at the time) that Congress formally abolished in 1891." (Supreme Court, History.com).

I did not know about this, and I completely understand why this was abolished. Having to travel the, albeit smaller, country at the time, visiting every single district twice a year, would be a very difficult task. The transportation available was not like today. These early Supreme Court justices would have to travel the country via horses and carriages, or if it was available, steamboats. I cannot imagine how long it would take to travel, and to be constantly traveling to other districts would make it very difficult for the justices to focus on the larger, more important cases that could arise. Luckily, we now have 12 Circuit Courts of Appeals, that can do this job. 

What is the most important take-away point about the Supreme Court? 

    The US Supreme Court is one of the most important pieces of the United States Government. They provide justice, and promise the citizens of the United States equal justice under the law. The most important thing the Supreme Court can do is establish the true meaning of a law, deciding if how it should actually be applied. Just recently, they unanimously ruled in Trump v. Anderson, that Donald Trump could not be excluded from presidential ballots, due to the events of January 6th, 2022. The Supreme Court is essential to the United States, as it defines laws as we know it. 

What was the most surprising thing you learned? 

    A fact I learned from one of the videos, is that Opinion Writing is the most time consuming part of a Supreme Court Justices' job. This is because the reasoning for the court's ruling, that is stated in the opinion, must be enforced in all other courts and in future cases. I did not actually believe this would take the most time, but I also am not surprised at this fact. I would have figured that the actual discussions and arguments the Justices have about a case, and the facts that go along with it, would be the most time consuming. I would think it could even get ugly. But I do understand that their ruling must be clear and concise; easy for other courts to follow. Therefore, creating their ruling and reasoning would take a large amount of time. 

How did the video change the way you thought of the Supreme Court? 

I have always thought highly of the United States Supreme Court, and its justices. After all, they are the most powerful judicial body on the planet. The amount of power that they could theoretically hold is immense. They interpret the very words of the US Constitution, and uphold law. But they are merely people. People who deal with issues about human rights. The amount of pressure that is on the justices is immense, as they tell the states, congress, and the president himself what they can or cannot do. As they are people, they will be stressed, and worry about causing controversy, even though it is unavoidable. The Supreme Court looks after the good of the nation itself, and for this, I have an immense respect for them, and wish them the best judgement in their rulings. 

Why is a More Tolerant Society a Better Society?

 

Lee C. Bollinger
Photo provided by The Federalist Society

Back in 1986, Lee C. Bollinger, a member of the Oxford University Press, published an article titled The Tolerant Society: Freedom of Speech and Extremist Speech in America. In his article, he talks about his idea of a more tolerant society, aka a society that is used to hearing hateful or upsetting things, would be a better society. The reasoning for this? We hear things that could upset us so often, that we are becoming numb to it. Its impact will be smaller and smaller each time we hear something. This is now one of the Eight Values of Free Expression, and I would like to provide my own view on it. 

I actually like the idea of this theory. A society that is so used to hearing harsh things, either directed at them or just around them, will be more tolerant, and toughened up. I say this due to a personal experience of mine: 

Way back when I went to High School, I had switched from a small private school where I had been all my life, to the largest public school in my county. As you can imagine, this was a very dramatic change.  I was in a new environment, and completely on my own. I was no longer a closeted child who went to private school. I had to learn how to navigate around different kinds of people. Different ways of life. I was quickly accustomed to harsh language that I would not hear at my private school. Additionally, every time I would go to the bathroom I would see someone vaping or doing some sort of illicit activity. 

While there was no hate speech here, it did get very close to it during my senior year of high school. We had already done a year of school online due to Covid, and when we returned we had to wear masks. I obliged with this for the majority of the year. But eventually I was starting to get stressed out, and was granted a mask exception from the school principal, as well as my doctor. Well there were some kids in my AP Government class who did NOT like this. They had taken photos of me, and put them all up on social media declaring me a white supremacist. Surprisingly, despite the posts getting taken down rather quickly, word had spread very fast, and I was in the middle of an "angry mob" for a few weeks. I had eventually learned to pay them no mind, and to just do my own business. When the school finally declared that we did not have to wear masks, the white supremacist accusations and hate towards me finally started to dwindle down. 

Nowadays, I just don't care what other people thing of me. I have grown so accustomed to drama, that I pay rumors no mind. Harsh language and smoking don't bother me. So, my reasoning for believing that a Tolerant Society is a better society, is due to first hand experience. People these days are always hearing about crazy things happening, and crazy people. Social media is a hell of a drug, and can show you the extreme. And news will cover events that might make you scared, or hint about wars. But your average person just doesn't care anymore. We as a society are all used to hearing this, and have grown accustomed to it. Think of all the people who make jokes about 9/11 these days!

Where I Get my News and Other Information

    For starters, I don't know if I would say this is the best way to get information on the news. It is rather strange. But for me, it works. I don't get overwhelmed with media and information,  but I will be aware of what is going on...if I am paying attention. 

#1 - TruthSocial

My first source of information is... TruthSocial! This app was launched in February of 2022, by the Trump Media and Technology group, in order to create a platform without political censorship. This was in regards to Twitter repeatedly censoring conservative accounts, which later led to Elon Musk purchasing the company. Now, I don't actually browse TruthSocial. In fact, I don't remember the last time I even opened the app! But I have it set to send me notifications about major headlines in political news and other important events, so if I am paying attention, I can be alerted to the news of what is happening in the US. You can find them here: truthsocial.com

#2 - The DailyWire

This is what now leads me into my second source of information. TheDailyWire! I tend to use their mobile app, although I do believe their website can be easier to navigate. Now I will open DailyWire more than TruthSocial. In fact, my father has a subscription to their premium service, which I tend to leech off of. They have podcasts, news articles, and even documentaries and movies they have produced! Just like TruthSocial, I tend to use their notifications and alert headlines as my primary news source, and that will depend on whether or not I open the app. Most of the time, these headlines might be similar to what I view on TruthSocial, but if I am going to read about it in depth, DailyWire is where I will be heading. You can find them here: www.dailywire.com

#3 - Twitter/X

I also get information from accounts and headlines that may now appear on Twitter, which is now referred to as X. I do need to be aware as to what I am looking at, and who it is coming from, as this site contains a large amount of bias. Luckily, they now have a community based fact-checking program, which can confirm or deny, or even just provide more information to posts. I do not believe this is a reliable source of news, but every once in a while, while I am  scrolling, I can find some news mixed in with my entertainment. Here you can find Twitter/X: twitter.com

#4 - Newsmax

Now for an actually reliable source of news, I go to Newsmax. As this is a real legitimate news source, and not a social media (The DailyWire does not count), the information here is professionally written, as well as airing on television. Newsmax contains all sorts of news occurring in the US, from breaking news, political news, opinion news, and occasionally even global news. Newsmax has been gaining popularity, and I would definitely recommend it as a reliable news source. Check them out here! www.newsmax.com

#5 - FoxNews

The last source of news I like to rely on, is FoxNews. According to Statistica.com, FoxNews is the number one news information channel in the nation. Check for yourself. FoxNews contains breaking news updates in both the United States, and the world. It covers political topics, and it has its opinion articles. It covers entertainment, media, and sports topics! The Fox News Network even branches off into smaller, local news channels! FoxNews covers a wide variety of information, but I just need to make sure to not let the bias get to me, as they do have a habit of being more conservative, which has the possibility of only seeing half of the story, depending on the topic. You can find them here: www.foxnews.com

So, this is the list of where I like to get my information. As I mentioned above, some of these are strange ways of gaining information on the news. But it works for me, and I like it. I would also like to mention that I do get a lot of my information from family, friends, classmates, and even my teachers like Dr. Dean Smith. (He informs us of a lot of good news information). Overall, the news is the news, and I cannot let it overwhelm me.