Preventing Piracy

Over time this issue of piracy and file sharing have grown into major problems. If we're being honest, then I think it's safe to say that everyone has taken part in illegal downloading in some shape or form. The main cause for this is because we as users have to the power to find the information on the internet. The average user does not take the time to think about the problems they could be causing such as profit loss and viruses. Although I do not believe there's a way to totally eliminate illegal downloading I do believe there are some things that can be done to minimize the amount of piracy/file sharing. The first action that I think needs to be taken in order to minimize the amount of piracy is making the punishments more strict. In most cases, the worst offense that anyone receives for this action is a warning and honestly that's nothing more than a slap on the risk. There has to be a type of punishment implemented such as a fine that makes users think twice about what they're doing. Another obvious and easy solution to the problem would be to lower the prices of the music. I would say the average price of a song on iTunes now is around a $1.25. Most people have well over a hundred songs on their iPod so if you do the math that adds up to a significant amount of money really quick. If prices are lowered and users don't feel that they are being taken advantage of then the motivation to buy songs and albums will increase and issue of piracy will reduce. And finally, I believe that the government needs to be more active in implementing a stronger internet surveillance. It's impossible to believe that they will catch everyone who partakes in illegal downloading or file sharing, but it is realistic to say that this will scare people from trying it. In order for users to seriously think twice about illegally downloading they have to know there will be serious repercussions for their actions. Please let me know what you think of my suggestions!

Privacy and Enhanced Personalization

Alfred Kobsa's article "Privacy and Enhanced Personalization" brings up a very interesting and controversial topic. The main point of the article discusses how users love having the freedom to explore the internet and have that level of personalization that we all strive for. However, the problem users are facing is the amount of private/confidential information they are being asked to compromise in order to have the personal web experience that they want. Although this is a major concern for everyone who is in involved on the internet, the level of concern about privacy has been categorized into three different categories: Privacy Fundamentalists, Privacy Unconcerned, and Privacy Pragmatists. Privacy Fundamentalists generally express extreme concern about any use of their data and unwillingness to disclose information, even when privacy protection mechansims would be in place. The Privacy Unconcerned tend to express mild concern for privacy, and mild anxiety about how other people and organizations use information about them. And finally the Privacy Pragmatists are generally concerned about their privacy as well, but less than the fundamentalists. The article actually stated that the majority of people would actually fall under the category of Privacy Pragmatists. Considering how popular the web is and how many tasks such as shopping and paying bills are now done online I guess it shouldn't be surprising that the majority of people are not unbelievably concerned with the issue. I'm very hesitant when it come to giving out personal information, so I would definitely consider myself to be a Privacy Fundamentalists. Another key element that stuck out to me from the article was that people's trust in a Web site plays a crucial roll in the decision of disclosing their personal information. This is something that's so simple, yet so important. Just like anything else in this world, if you don't trust what you're doing then it's probably not a good decision. I consider myself to be very involved person online but yet I'm very disturbed by the information Web companies seem to consistently be asking me to provide. So I guess the question that I would like to ask is "How are we as users supposed to distinguish between what information is okay to give out, and the information we should refuse to give up"? I don't feel that we as users should be pressured into giving up our privacy in order to have our desired personalization. Let me know what you think!