Catalysts for Change - Ethics for the Information Age - page 43

42. Martin Carnoy writes, “Thanks to a communications and software revolution, we are
more 'connected' than ever before—by cell phone, email, and video conferencing—yet
more disconnected than in the past from social interaction” [49]. Do you agree?
43. Was it wrong for Altair 8800 owners to use Altair BASIC on their computers without
paying Micro-Soft?
44. The story of Altair BASIC highlights a clash between those who see software as some-
thing to be developed and freely shared among computer enthusiasts and those who see
software development as an entrepreneurial activity. Give some contemporary examples
that illustrate these contrasting views of software.
45. More than 90 percent of personal computers run a version of the Microsoft Windows
operating system. In what ways is this situation beneficial to computer users? In what
ways does this situation harm computer users?
46. Angelo says, “When I'm trying to have a face-to-face conversation with someone, and
that person repeatedly interrupts the conversation to answer their cell phone or ex-
change text messages, they are basically telling me that I'm not worth all of their at-
tention.” Do you agree with Angelo?
In-Class Exercises
47. Use four different search engines (www.altavista.com , www.bing.com , www.google.com ,
www.yahoo.com) to perform a search on the phrase “Information Technology.” Create a
table that compares the top 10 Web pages returned by each search engine. Which engines
were the most similar?
48. Managers of health clubs are concerned that people in locker rooms may be secretly
photographed by other members carrying smartphones.
Debate the following proposition: “Health clubs should ban all cell phone use
within their premises.”
49. In the 1984 presidential election, all the major television networks used computers to
predict that Republican Ronald Reagan would defeat Democrat Walter Mondale, even
before the polls closed on the West Coast. When they heard this news, some Mondale
supporters who had been waiting in line to vote simply went home without voting. This
may have influenced the results of some statewide and local elections.
Debate the following proposition: “In presidential elections polls should close at
the same time everywhere in the United States.”
50. Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Volvo, and other automobile manufacturers are
currently offering collision mitigation systems on some of their vehicles. A collision
mitigation system uses radar to sense when the distance between the car and the vehicle
in front of it is rapidly decreasing. The system provides audio and visual warnings to
the driver when dangerous situations are detected. It also pretightens the seat belts. If
the driver fails to respond, the system brakes the car and tightens the seat belt further to
reduce the impact of the collision.
Debate the following proposition: “Every new car should be equipped with a colli-
sion mitigation system.”