MEMO #10

My Google Docs. Experiences

I have used Google Docs. as a word processor for almost three months. During the usage period, I was able to find some good and also bad things about Google Docs. In this memo, I would like to mention both advantages and disadvantages and whether I like Google Docs. or not based on my experiences.

Google Docs. has several advantages over the other word processors, such as Microsoft Word. For example, Google Docs. can help word processor users save their hard disk memory space by using web-server storage. In addition, the documents in the web-server instead of in our own PCs can be considered more secure from computer viruses and any other security breaches. Finally, we can easily share documents and collaborate with others online for revision and feedback. We can even directly publish our documents from Google Docs. server to a blog.

Google Docs. also has some disadvantages. For example, it has some degree of compatibility problem. In other words, if I copy some documents from Microsoft Word and paste them to Google Docs., the document will be messed up. The spaces among sentences and paragraphs and the font sizes will be automatically changed unfavorably. Availability based on Internet access can be another disadvantage of Google Docs. If we do not have internet access, we cannot open and work on our documents on the Google web-server.

Do you see the future of software going “thin”?

Maybe, the answer will be “Yes,” but I think that it will take a long time to change because the users, including me, are too familiar with the style of current software, and also, the users usually do not like huge revolution.

Is this a market that Microsoft can enter and compete within?

I think that Google’s idea relating to a web-based word processor is pretty smart and future-oriented, so Microsoft will definitely have to consider entering the market to strongly compete with Google.

In conclusion, although Google’s idea is good, and actually, Google Docs has definitely several advantages, I do not like Google Docs so far based on my experiences. Because I am definitely more familiar with Microsoft Word than Google Docs., so I can use it more efficiently with much less time and less effort. While my own computer is relatively of no interest to hackers, Google Docs. server, despite its security protocols, is potentially a big target; therefore it is not so advantageous to use Google Docs.

MEMO #9

The Avatar Sung Boa’s Second Life Experiences

I have been enjoying virtual world of Second Life since this past January. Frankly, I started the second life thing for the class assignment, but now I am definitely hooked by its fun. In this memo, I would like to share my experiences, such as how I learned to walk, fly, and communicate with other users on Second Life.

First of all, Second Life’s community guideline, which consists of six issues including assault, harassment, indecency, intolerance, disturbing the peace and disclosure, was interesting when I created an account because I thought that Second Life was just a simple, ordinary computer game before I started, but it was a more serious, web-based, virtual social networking arena.

The first thing I did when starting the Second Life was to change the appearance of my avatar, Boa. I spent more than twenty minutes to decide what I would look like, from choosing my ethnicity to how I would dress. It was totally fun because I could determine many things, from the texture of my hair to the size of my nostrils.

After changing the appearance, I learned how to walk, and it was not hard to learn because I already knew how to move from some computer games. After walking around many places, I met other avatars, such as RockStar and Rider, and learned many things from them. Both RockStar and Rider are now my good buddies in the Second Life world. I learned how to drive and fly from RockStar, however unlike walking, flying required much more effort to learn. Now I can fly very well and teleport to other places, so my friends and I regularly meet, and we usually fly around the several places we like, such as Appearance Castle and Communication Volcano. In addition, we are planning to participate in some interesting events together.

Second Life’s commercial implications, such as trading based on buying and selling and circulation of money, were other interesting points. I have gotten some fun by doing these economic activities.

In conclusion, many experiences relating to the Second Life were fascinating and I am definitely hooked. The community on Second Life is one of the best I have experienced on an online environment. Most people I met were friendly, welcoming, and helpful, and Second Life gave me the chance to meet a variety of people of all different tastes and from all different locations to interact with. I would like to recommend Second Life to my friends who are heartily sick of standard online games.

MEMO #8

Top Three Favorite Podcasts

#1. Japancast.net – (Japanese Lesson)

Address: http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/6214

Comment: Japancast.net is the number one podcast I enjoy. The reasons why I like this it can be summarized as effective organization and detailed explanation. The overall organization of the lessons makes them easy to follow for the listeners. In addition, the detailed explanations definitely increase the level of understanding. If you want to learn about basic Japanese conversation and pronunciation, this podcast can be a good choice.

#2. New York Times Wine Updates

Address: http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/podcasts/wineupdate.xml

Comment: If somebody wants to know more about wine and wine-making than just drinking wine, “New York Times Wine Updates,” hosted by Eric Asimov, their chief wine critic, can be a wonderful choice. I like this podcast because the host’s easy explanations definitely provide chances to learn about wine, from knowing the best tasting wine in the world to actual professional wine-making. In addition, this podcast provide interesting news and updates on the famous wine makers and the industry.

#3. Money Girl’s Podcast

Address: http://moneygirl.qdnow.com/

Comment: If you would like to learn about basic tips for managing and understanding investments, taxes, and general finances, “Money Girl’s Podcast” can be useful. I like this podcast because the podcast tends to be relatively easy to follow compared to other financial podcasts I know, and the casters usually provide easy explanations about financial concepts such as taxes filing, and stock investment tips. However, to be honest, the explanations of the casters are not always clear or easy.

The Three Least Favorite Podcasts

#1. Ryan’s Helpful Hints (Nuance Talks Screen Reader for cell phones)

Address: http://www.podcast.net/show/85507

Comment: I do not like this podcast because the overall atmosphere is boring, and it’s hard to follow the caster’s explanation about cell phone’s talks screen reader, although I already knew something about the topic. The caster tried to demonstrate the concept by using his cell phone but it was hard to follow his explanation. The caster needs more time to prepare for his podcast.

#2. The TechWeekly Podcast (Episode3: Recent Technical News)

Address: http://www.podcast.net/show/2138

Comment: I do not like this podcast. There was the lack of explanation in episode 3. Although the caster introduced various recent technical news, such as the current market state of Nintendo Wii and Playstantion 3, Second Life bug, and WiFi complaints, every topics mentioned by the caster lacked details and in-depth explanation. The caster just mentioned the titles of the news and provided really short and almost useless facts.

#3. The Best Damn Tech Show

Address: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BestDamnTechShowPeriod

Comment: Sometimes, this podcast can be useful for highly knowledgeable techies, but not for the average or non-technical person. I think the casters, including Drew Olanoff, Paul Fleming, and Adam Plante, are quite smart, but they often fail to consider the average or non-technical group of listeners during their discussion about some technical concepts. To catch what the caster talks about, much background knowledge is usually required. Without enough technical background, it is hard to follow this public podcast.

Wikipedia Posting Address

Hey Guys.

I posted someting about Digital Multimedia Broadcasting applications in Wikipedia.
Please enjoy it.

Here is the location: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Multimedia_Broadcasting_%28DMB%29_Applications

MEMO #7

Opinion and Critique on whether or not Wikipedia is a Credible Source

It is hard to say that I totally believe Wikipedia, but I think that it can be considered as a useful and a quick research tool. Wikipedia can be considered as a somewhat credible resource because much information in Wikipedia is reviewed by uncountable people, so there are some chances that wrong information in Wikipedia can be corrected by someone if the information includes some mistakes or problems. In addition, much information in Wikipedia usually comes from other trusted sources, such as actually published articles, journals, and believable websites, so these kinds of information are many times quite balanced or almost accurate. Overall, I think that Wikipedia provides a valuable service to the world by providing easily accessible information.

However, although Wikipedia can be a good source to get for a basic or rough idea of some subjects in a short amount of time, we cannot trust everything in Wikipedia like other web sources because the information in Wikipedia is not a truly peer-reviewed resource, such as academic journals. We should be careful not to use Wikipedia for the academic or professional research or presentations. In other words, if somebody prepares a research paper and a presentation with good quality, it is definitely much better to use the library, e-journals, or Encyclopedia Britannica, which is commonly considered accurate, reliable, and well-written, rather than Wikipedia. In fact, many universities or university-level academic institutes, such as Stanford University, do not count Wikipedia as a reference for their student’s school works. Although I am quite inclined to use Wikipedia, I think that Wikipedia is not able to become a replacement at this point for reliable sources such as academic journals or the Encyclopedia Britannica, especially not for academic or professional works.

In conclusion, Wikipedia can be considered as a credible source for simple facts or background information because huge numbers of people work on it and Wikipedia’s credibility has been proven by some research. However, as I mentioned earlier, if we need important information, it will definitely be better to use guaranteed sources, such as academic journals. In addition, it can be a good way to prevent any credibility problem in our works if we have a habit to check against several sources for important information.

Article #4

I would like to share current international investment article.

The article is about Korea's current telecommunication invest and business strategies. This article is quite concise and easy to catch the trend of international telecommunication investement. Please enjoy it.

Here is the location of the article: http://www.wimaxday.net/site/2006/12/01/sk-telecom-announces-125-million-investment-in-wibro/

MEMO #6

Public Announcement: IRS Moves to Prevent Telephone Tax Refund Abuse; Helps Taxpayers Make Accurate Requests

(Based on the advice of the professor, Black, I switched this week's memo topic from international telecom. investment and business strategies to public annoucement)

On February 7^th in 2007, the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) announced that it is starting investigation into prevent abuse by tax preparers and is helping taxpayers make accurate requests for the one-time telephone excise tax refund. In fact, the IRS has started to do special site visits with tax preparers across the nation this month and is planning to visit twenty two different tax prepares who have handled more than 1,500 tax returns.

Since the IRS authorized a one-time refund of the federal excise tax colleted on the long-distance service billed from the beginning of March 2003 to the end of July 2006, the IRS has monitored telephone excise tax refund requests for potential problems. By monitoring the requests, problems with returns from tax preparers who have criminal intent were found. In other words, some tax-return preparers are requesting thousands of dollars of refunds for their clients although their clients have the right to request only a tiny fraction of that amount. According to the IRS, the problems with returns from tax preparers are as follows:

· Some tax-return preparers requested an inappropriate amount the taxpayer’s phone bill instead of just the three-percent long-distance tax.

· Some tax-return preparers requested a refund in the thousands of dollars, suggesting that the taxpayer paid more for telephone service than they received in income.

The IRS is seriously warning tax-return preparers and of course taxpayers. According to the IRS, if tax preparers do not prepare accurate tax returns, civil penalties and criminal sanctions can be imposed. In addition, “taxpayers who request more of a refund than they are entitled to receive will have their refunds held, and they may be subject to an audit.”

Finally, to make for an easy and accurate refund, the IRS prepared several refund policies to respond to various cases. According to the IRS, it has prepared a standard refund amount policy, based on personal exemptions, ranging from $30 to $60, to estimate the reasonable amount for most individual taxpayers. However, “If taxpayers have phone bills and other records, they can request the actual amount of excise tax paid.”

The most correct information on this refund issue can be accessed in the Telephone Excise Tax Refund section on the website of the IRS. (http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=164032,00.html)

Reference:

• Internal Revenue Service. “IRS Moves to Prevent Telephone Tax Refund Abuse; Help Taxpayers Make Accurate Requests” Internet: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=167622,00.html, Feb. 7, 2007 [Feb. 21, 2007]