File sharing is a development in the way people can communicate and interact. It also has many effects in the world of copyright law. Many record companies want file sharing to be made illegal so that they can maintain their record sales. I see the validity to this idea however, I believe that music is something that is meant to be shared.
I do not use programs such as limewire or kazaa. I do however burn cd's that my friends have and I am interested in. I also purchase a lot of music. I think that most people continue to buy music that they really like. If anything file sharing is leading to more people knowing about a certain musician or band. This leads to more notoriety, and more people going to concerts or purchasing things such as tshirts. I think that the music industry will adapt. I don't believe that file sharing will discourage people from making good music.

My favorite mashups were www.lastingnews.com/maps/cia_prisons.html, www.1001seafoods.com/fishing, and www.beermapping.com.
All of these sites combine google maps with things that I find interesting. I know that I will use 1001 seafoods to plan my next fishing trip. I am always looking for the best spots to catch a lot of fish. I like the cia prisons site because it is far out and probably not based on great evidence. I also like the bar mapping site because I like to drink beer. I found some of the other mashups rather boring. I have no desire to buy a house and I never use ebay or amazon.

Net neutrality is an interesting and complicated issue. Fundamentally, the debate is focused on the model that the internet should follow relative to a system of controls. Currently, the senate has to decide whether the internet should follow the same model of regulation as the telephone system (the model it currently adheres to) or whether the internet should shift to a cable TV model where services vary according to factors such as cost and provider.
Groups that assert the internet should remain the same advocate that changing the system would decrease entrepreneurship and let the control of the internet fall into the hands of huge corporations that have already established themselves as the internet giants. Google and Microsoft supports this model.
Companies such as AT&T and Comcast want to change the model in order for them to provide the best service possible while making the most money possible. Certain applications on the internet use more bandwidth than others. These companies believe that the services that take up more of their resources should cost more. They also argue that the consumer will have more options and have the ability to pay more for personalized options and features. These companies believe that a new model will drive innovation and technological advancement.
I believe that the current model is best. It has worked well for this amount of time and has shown that the parameters and guidelines in place have allowed for monumental growth technologically. I want to have access to all of the internet's resources. If suddenly it costs me more to utilize tools such as video on the internet, I simply will not be able to afford it. This issue is important to our society as the internet continues to be become more and more a part of our lives. I look forward to seeing the new advancements in the uses of the internet. I believe that if the model changes, that advancement will be hindered and cost more for the consumer.

Radio Frequency Identification Tags are a technology that have infiltrated many aspects of our daily lives. The RIFD tag is a small radio wave transmitter that can be embedded in almost anything. They have many uses.
Potentially, they have promise for making our lives easier. An example of this is using a Fast Pass on the Bay or Golden Gate Bridge. Your card transmits a signal to a rasio reciever and it counts you while debiting your account. This makes traffic flow more smoothly and decreases time waiting to pay a toll. Another good use is the prevention of shoplifting. RFID tags are placed in merchandise in a store and when you check out they are deactivated. Items not purchased do not get deactivated. When a person stealing leaves the store alarms are set off.
On the other hand there are potentially privacy invaing outcomes of RIFD technology. People are talking about having RIFD tags placed in Children in order to locate them if lost or abducted. While this could help many unfortunate situations, it also means that someone, somewhere, can locate you without you wanting them to. This is scary and invasive into personal privacy.

The issue of the lack of security in regard to the Diebold voting machines is pressing due to the coming of the November elections. Primarily, many groups are concerned with the tampering with of the voting machines. As demonstrated in the Princeton video, it does not take much to put software into the machines that tamper with the results of the election. People can place a virus or other types of cheating software onto a removable memory card that uploads the program onto the machine when it is being booted up.
If I was in charge of the California elections this coming November I would be sure that these machines were not used unless the security issues are resolved. A lot of time needs to be spent in order to ensure the legitimacy of our election's results. To make sure the process is fair, it might take going back to paper ballots that are read electronically by machines in a secure location. The electoral process will never be perfect. However, steps can be taken to improve it.