Module 11

The movie I chose to watch is War Games. This is a movie that I really enjoyed watching as a kid, but one that I did not fully grasp or follow at that age. After watching the movie again, the plot and story line made much more sense with my background in computer science.

The story begins with a simulation of a nuclear attack against the United States from the Soviet Union. A large computer named the “WAPR” sits at NORAD and monitors and simulates WWIII, and how to respond to such an attack. A teenage boy named David, who is a computer junkie, breaks into his school database via a dial-up connection and changes his grades, along with his friend Jennifer's, after hacking the password from the principal's office. He also breaks in to the Pan-AM database and creates reservations for himself and Jennifer to fly to Paris just for fun. His computer is constantly dialing phone numbers, and finds a response from a computer in Sunnyvale, California which has a list of games to play. However, he is unable to access them due to being unable to get past the security. He visits a couple of his computer programming friends and they suggest the concept of a back door; one that is placed to bypass front end security and is simply accessed by a password of the programmer's choice. David researches the developer of the program, Professor Falken, and finds out he is deceased, and that his family was killed in an auto accident. He also learns his child’s name is “Joshua” and uses that as the password and successfully enters the back door.

He begins interaction with the computer, as it is one that can think for itself, much like we as humans can think and make decisions on our own. He suggests playing a game, “Global Nuclear War”, and the computer begins by asking him if he would like to be on the side of the United States or the Soviet Union. He responds he would like to be on the side of the Soviet Union, and that he would like to launch a missile attack targeting Las Vegas and his hometown of Seattle. This sets off a fury of excitement at NORAD, as they don’t know this is a simulation and are preparing for an actual attack by the Soviet Union.

At this point, “Joshua”, the program running the whole operation, has stolen the launch codes from NORAD, and is simply waiting for Death Con 1 which is required to launch the missiles. David and Jennifer find out that Professor Falken is actually still alive, and pay him a visit at his home on a small Island off the coast of Oregon, as they believe he is the only one who can stop “Joshua” from going through with the game and launching the nuclear missiles. “Joshua” begins another simulation that launches 300 missiles, which takes NORAD to Death Con 1, and enables a full scale nuclear response. Professor Falken and David make an entrance into NORAD just in time. As all the gates and doors are closed, they convince the general that this is simply a simulation and not an actual attack by the Soviet Union. As the screens at NORAD reflect missiles striking the United States at various points, it becomes clear that this is just a simulation. Eventually, David and Professor Falken convince “Joshua” to play a game of tic-tact-toe and teach “Joshua” the notion of futility. This is an important concept of the movie, as when Professor Falken programmed “Joshua”, he was unsuccessful in teaching “Joshua” this concept. This concept is what is necessary for “Joshua” to understand that not all games are winnable.

The use of computers in the movie are for the most part realistic. Back in 1983 when this movie came out, computers and networks were rather elementary compared to today's technologies, but in my estimation, hacking of computer equipment and causing problems was a real problem, just as it is today. The back door notion that was suggested by David's friends is also realistic. This is a concept I have heard of quite a bit though my education in computer science. What classifies as fiction in the movie, is the depiction that a program could actually be developed that can think and make decisions on its own. Even today, I believe this is out of the scope of what technologies are capable of.

The social issue this movies brings up is security. Even though this was simply a game that a young teenager wanted to play, the impact of such a breach of the nuclear network is very frightening. In today's world, with essentially all major components of life tied to networks, databases, and computers, the possibility that an essential infrastructure such as the electric grid being exposed by a terrorist, or a criminal network, is very real, and one that government and business alike should take very seriously. It has been discovered recently that Iran's nuclear program has been compromised by the efforts of US and Israeli personnel who devised a virus to penetrate the Iranian networks and set their nuclear program astray. This is an example of how hacking technologies actually benefit us, but that same virus and technology could just as easily be used in creating destruction. There are already concerns that now the Iranian breach has gone public, this virus could be studied by terrorists to create their own destructive plot against the United States.

Module 10

First off, I will have to say this was a very difficult read for me. The grammar left much to be desired and I had to read the first few paragraphs multiple times just to figure out what the author was talking about. Joe appears to be a futuristic robot that was not yet invented, and merely a story derived from someone's imagination long ago.

Logic appears to be the internal workings of the robot, the “Motherboard” in terms of today's technologies. It provides all of the thinking and decision making for the robot, and processes the inputted information to a state that is comprehensible to the users. This seems to coincide a lot with today’s modern computer. The logic also appears to be capable of input from something similar to a keyboard, as the author eludes to “It looks like a vision receiver used to, only it's got keys instead of dials and you punch the keys for what you wanna get”. I interpreted the tank to be a big database, possibly connected to other databases, that provides information on any subject matter you would like to explore, and even provides current information such as the weather. This appears to me to be a direct relationship with the thought of having information at the touch of your fingertips, which would have been very convenient for someone to conceive that notion long ago. Of course we know this to be very true today; it's called the world wide web. Yesterdays imagination has becomes today's reality. The author also points to a "Station SNAFU" which appears to be like today's modern web cam. This device enabled the robot to connect to other robots across a network and appears to allow live viewing in some fashion or another.

I found it interesting that even back at the time this was written, they were talking about counterfeiting, and the demand for it was one of the popular searches. This is probably something we would think of today as modern Google searches, and while tracking the most popular subjects searched for on the web, counterfeiting seems to come out on a consistent basis. However, we all know this popular search is much different than counterfeiting.

Online baking also appears to be a foretold tale, as there is an instance where circuits are are transferring credit card balances from bank to bank, possibly causing people to go bankrupt. I would have to think that credit cards probably existed back then, or at least the notion of them, but this story goes a step further in the assumption that credit card use was wide spread, maybe to the extent they are used in modern times. This also fits right in with the modern day hacking of computer equipment. Someone appeared to be breaking into the “tank” causing destruction to the banking system. The tank is ordered for immediate shutdown, but it just can not happen. The tank has been doing the computing for businesses for years. This reminds one a lot of today's networks. The loss of technologies or the network to a business would be catastrophic. We have grown so accustomed to technology that our daily lives are immersed in them, so you have to wonder if society could carry on if for some reason it all disappeared one day. It certainly would have a profound effect on the economies of the world, and it may be thought of in terms of large natural disasters like the Great Depression.

Logic in this story is not compatible with what we deem to be computer technologies; it seemed to have a mind of its own, like something that you might consider in a science fiction story of a robot being created that can think and make choices on its own. I'm sure there are programs advanced enough to begin this process, but they are not wide spread and leave a lot to the imagination about the future. It's interesting to think of how advanced and technology driven the world is today, then after reading a story like this, thinking of what someone thought the future may look like, and comparing it to what we may have to look forward to, is just mind boggling. It's hard to imagine that in 50 years we may look back at today’s technologies and laugh at them.

Module 9

The Dell laptop build is rather interesting, and one I have often wondered about with the amount of business I perform with them in my job. Dell computers are in constant change to keep up with the changing technologies in the industry. The laptops are engineered and redesigned approximately every twelve months. These Dell engineers are referred to as “original design manufacturer” (ODM). These teams design computers to meet the needs of Dell's customers.

Dell has six factories throughout the world, which are located in Limerick, Ireland; Xiamen, China; Eldorado do sul, Brazil; Nashville, Tennessee; Austin, Texas; and Penang, Malaysia. These factories are closely tied to a supplier logistic center (SLCs), which are owned by suppliers that Dell contracts with and are staging areas for the various parts that make up Dell computers. A Dell laptop begins with a customer order either by phone, or by Dell's website. As soon as that order comes in, the SLCs are aware of it, and prepare what needs to be delivered to the factory based on the components needed to build that specific order. Because of the quantity of Dell computers ordered every day, those suppliers are required to deliver parts to the Dell factories every two hours to keep up with the demand. The various parts that make up a laptop come from hundreds of manufacturers and range from power cords, to motherboards, to wireless cards, and so on. The laptop is then assembled manually by teams within the factories where all the parts are put in place, and any appropriate labeling is placed on the laptop. The laptop is then sent down a conveyor to be burned, this refers to the actual downloading of the operating system, and any software that was ordered with the laptop. Dell has huge banks of servers supplied with the latest software and operation systems it uses to build their computers. The laptop is then placed in protective foam, boxed up and placed on a pallet, and a specific shipping manifest is labeled on the box to detail which pallet it will be on and what the customer's shipping address is. Dell has large 747 aircraft carriers that ship out six days a week from Penang, Taiwan to Nashville, Tennessee, and deliver around 242,506 pounds of computers on a daily basis. The laptop is then shipped to its final destination via UPS.

Unfortunately, Al-Qaeda has benefited from supply chaining in an effort to spread terror to countries and people of the world. Their destructive forces have been brought out largely on the fact they have been so successful in building their terror networks through mobile, self-financing mutant supply chains and collaboration. These supply chains have raised the money necessary to recruit followers, and to stimulate and disseminate ideas for terror. They have also brought upon tools to undertake their acts of violence. Thanks to the internet and satellite, Al-Qaeda has been able to solidify the Muslim identity and solidarity within Muslim countries. This has brought about sympathy for Al-Qaeda and new recruits for its cause of destruction of the western world.

The curse of oil refers to countries who are underdeveloped, anti-democratic, and opposed to drilling the talents and energies of the people. These monarch leaders do not get their revenue from the people through taxation, they simply get it from drilling, so this makes the relationship between ruler and rules highly distorted. Countries who do not focus on tapping the resources of the people have weak, or nonexistent institutions. Countries who do focus on tapping the resources of the people have real institutions, property rights, and the rule of law. It was interesting to read the quote from Nancy Birsdsall in the essay “Saving Iraq from Its Oil” as she points out that “34 less developed countries now boast significant oil and natural gas resources that constitute at least 30 percent of their total export revenue. Despite their riches, however, 12 of these countries annual per capita income remains below $1500” (pg 626). Friedman's argument that countries that have rich oil supplies are cursed because of their lack of effort and resources put in the people, and not solely on the oil, is one that has never really entered my mind. After reading this chapter, I agree with Friedman's assessment that these monarch's will likely continue to thrive with disregard for their people, and without the people benefiting from the natural riches of its resources.