Homework #14 - Tomohiro Oda

1. what did you find
   
   
   
   1. interesting about the article?
      
      The Bell's story is very interesting because it tells how he designed use of telephone system which had create new portion of human's societies.
      
      
   2. not interesting about the article?
      
      I think each episode in the paper is quite interesting.
      
      
   
   
2. what do you consider the main message of the article?
   
   Technologies must adapt to human's societies and vice versa.
   Computer technologies does not change the society, but humans do.
   
   
3. think of a couple of persons (maybe family members or friends) who are in a position to use computer by being "home alone"! Characterize the major problems that these persons have!
   
   I would be a good example of "home alone".
   I have an E-mail account at my company in Japan and they sometimes become off-line.
   All I can do at that time is sometimes just waiting for someone recovering the system.
   
   Another example is, again, I.
   I used to have a DSL connection at home and I changed my residence within this city.
   USWest told me that I could move the DSL connection to my new address.
   One or two weeks later, USWest told me that I had to change the phone number and I made it so.
   I waited for the day which they told me DSL would be available.
   Then I tried to connect to the net and failed.
   I asked them and the service representive said because I changed the number, I had to wait another couple of weeks.
   I waited and tried again. Again, failed.
   I telephoned the service desk and he told me that DSL is not available at my home due to quality of in-house wiring.
   One finding: They have never delivered me any information, but I had to ask them.
   One result: It took a couple of month to find out that DSL is not available and I paid for changing my phone number.
   
   
4. Describe briefly some new innovative technologies that you can think of which would address these problems!
   
   Anonymous BBS is often great source of information and also provides communities free of geological locations. I love it because I can be attached to Japanese society by reading/writing articles on Japanese anonymous BBS. However, it also often make flaming and sometimes a real damage to particular persons or organizations. How can flamed persons recover their honer?
   They are almost helpless.