Computing Foundations 2015.docx 

You should reading file

Deadline 36 hours

                Computing Foundations

                  

Write a 1-2 page essay on each of the questions outlined

below. This paper should be turned in hardcopy .

 

1) A truncation error has occurred in a critical situation,

causing extensive damage and loss of life. Who is liable,

if anyone? The designer of the hardware? The designer of

the software? The programmer who actually wrote that part

of the program? The person who decided to use the software

in that particular application? What if the software had

been corrected by the company that

originally developed it, but that update had not been

purchased and applied in the critical application? What if

the software had been pirated?

 

2) In a sense, the year 1923 marked the birth of what many

now call planned obsolescence. This was the year that

General Motors, led by Alfred Sloan, introduced the automobile

industry to the concept of model years. The idea was to

increase sales by changing styling rather than necessarily

introducing a better automobile. Sloan is quoted as saying,

 

    “We want to make you dissatisfied with your current car

     so you will buy a new one.”

 

To what extent is this marketing ploy used today in the

computer industry? Give examples.

 

3) Suppose you are using a multiuser operating system that

allows you to view the names of the files belonging to other

users as well as to view the contents of those files that are

not otherwise protected. Would viewing such information

without permission be similar to wandering through someone’s

unlocked home without permission, or would it be more like

reading materials placed in a common lounge such as a

physician’s waiting room?

 

4) When you visit a website, that site has the capability of

recording data, called cookies, on your computer indicating

that you have visited that site. These cookies can then be used

to identify return visitors and to record their previous

activities so that future visits to the site can be handled

more efficiently. The cookies on your computer also provide a

record of the sites you have visited. Should a website have

the capability to record cookies on your computer? Should a

website be allowed to record cookies on your computer without

your knowledge? What are possible benefits of cookies? What

problems could arise from the use of cookies?