Thursday 28 July 2011

week 3(b) reflection- questionnaire

hello.... Another assignment is on-going! so, today we are required to come out with a questionnaire regarding the previous assignments which are assignment 1 and assignment 4. To go on with the task, we have to create 10 simple questions for a survey research related to Original and Licensing Software. first, we have to register by sign up at www.sureveymonkey.com in order to create our own questionnaire.Once we are done with the question, we have to spread the links to our classmates so that they can answer our questions and give feedback.  after getting feedback, we are required to create demography and questions in variety format such as multiple choice questions, checkboxes, and scale. This is important as we will be using this for coding purpose in using SPSS for next lesson. Next, we have to create the real questionnaire in google document and send the form to the coursemates. later, we will study the spreadsheet for this online questionnaire.

As to complete this task, it is not as easy as ABC. however, we finally manage to create the questions after propose the questions to our lecturer for several times. At first, our question is not appropriate and seem to lose the focus. Then we improvise our question again. unfotunately, it seems to be rejected again. we almost loose our patient aond give up in doing this task. But, we suddenly come out with positive thinking saying that others can do, why we can't? therefore, we take the opportunity to seat together and discuss on the matter. using the brain to generate an excellent idea to form a new question is very tiring and make us exhausted. we follow the instruction from the course proforma closely so that we won't miss the important points that we should do. This survey has been doing on the students from IPGKDRI and IPGKS.  we also receive the survey from all of them. only now, we are still waiting for the result of the survey. thanks guys for answering our survey. your commitment to spare some times with the survey is kindly appreciated! :-) have a nice day!!!

Assignment 4 (reflection)

Again, this is pair work. so, as usual me and my partner cooperated together to do our work. For this time, we were assigned to do report and literature review on the problems faced by original and licensing software in Malaysia. we did some research on this topic.
We took the articles from two UKM database, 1 books.goolge.com and 1 google scholar as mentioned in course proforma.

UKM database
we need to search two journal articles from UKM online library  . It contains a lot of useful articles for the students as to be used as references. Not all people can log in into this library as the user need to enter the username and the password first. so, we log in into http://www.ukm.my/library/ with username and password  given by Dr. Siti Fatimah, our course coordinator. 

google scholar
easy as abc, we just search for the items needed and start reading and processing the information from the articles. we just type the URL for google scholar which is http://scholar.google.com.my/ to get started. 


books.google.com
there are a lot of books in here. we find some very useful for our research. there are a lot of other fields of books that one can use as source of  references. we can get free full preview books without any charge added. to preview and save the books, we have to sign in with our google account first.

Then, after doing the research by digging up some articles and books, we have to end up our research by writing a report in Open Office Writer software.
Open office software is just like microsoft office but comes with more features in it. As we have a little knowledge on technology especially in relation with software,
we did ask our coursemates on certain things that couldn't fix well our knowledge and thinking. Burning the midnight oil with my other friends in order to finish this assignment was mesmerizing, yet stressing. however, we manage to do and upload the file in yahoo group by early in the morning. ^^
before, when i do my assignments, I never look up the articles our journal article or books from the google scholar and books.google. In fact, I never know about the presence of this google scholar and books before. poor me ~ but now, I can make use of both this website as my reference for my study later.

To wrap up, this task is not an easy task at all as it needs us to put more effort and hard working instead of team spirit. However, it brings us a lot information and knowledge . tq~

THE PROBLEMS FACED IN USING ORIGINAL AND LICENSING SOFTWARE

Software can be divided into three major types, which consists of original licensed software, open source software and pirated software.

Original software is organized information in the form of operating systems, utilities, programs, and applications that enable computers to work. Without it, your computer will not perform any function. However, a lot of users prefer to use the piracy software since it is a lot cheaper and easier to install. In Malaysia only, the statistics of crime of software piracy rate was 59 per cent from 107 countries. (SOURCE: Fifth Annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study).

License software is a legal device governing the usage or redistribution of software. Software licensing has been abide by a trust in which the user is assume to be honest and stay on by the agreement and terms applied. This license software always come together with the software product in order to explain the term of use to the end-users. The program codes might be to install and maybe use as a back up copy on the computer.

The problem faced in licensing software is that the unscrupulous users will take advantages to make many copies of the software codes and install it into another computers. From here, we can see that the code of the license can just simply copied by the users. This is because there is the thought among the citizens that, it is fine to distribute the copies of the software . Besides, they don't even seem to realize that piracy is the worse thing to do in our country. The piracy here means, the participation in the unauthorized use or distribution in which you lend, give, copy or sell the software to anyone without owner's permission.

In the other hand, the problem also occurs in original software when the pirated software can be only downloaded online for free. We might begin by examining the principle of fairness and justice. Is using software illegally something we would regard as fair if the roles were reversed and we were the company selling the software? Indirectly, it gives a headache and causing the hair on the software inventors turns to grey just because of the users, who abuse and make illegal copies of their work. Because of this issues, they also loss a billion US dollar. Such companies devote a large portion of their earnings to the creation of new software products.

There are solutions for every problem. If we cannot defeat it, we still can protect it. That is what was suggested by experts to overcome this issue. To protect the original software from pirate software, there are three different levels of category. Firstly, the protection against a user, who duplicating a program for the use of a friend. To cope with it, the anti-piracy should increase the cost of copying equal with the cost of purchasing the program on the reliable market. Secondly, is the protection against copying for resale. In order to preclude it, the software ought to be cheaper. Then, the pirate one need to modify the program wholly than copying from the original one and if there is a risk for criminal records, still the cost is the same like the rewrite cost. Last but not least, the third one is about the protection of an algorithm that must be kept secret. It might be because of the program that use for the defence system of a nation.

Another solutions that should be taken to reduce this problem from happen is that the awareness among the Malaysians should be enhanced as to make them realize the disadvantages of using pirate software in their life. We always listen to the campaign of against piracy in entertainment production, but how about piracy in software systems as we are revolved around the use of technology in this computer era? So this awareness must to be instilled in ourselves first.
Here are the steps that should be taken in order to avoid illegal copying software among others:

First, get rid of any illegal software you might have inadvertently received. In this way you won't be viewed as a role model who says it is OK to use pirated software.
Find the resources to purchase those software packages you really need for work and for your personal use. With legal copies of software, you will get user support. Thus, it will help you to avoid potentially severe legal penalties; and, most of all, you will be acting ethically.
Next, when friends or colleagues ask for a copy of your software, invite them to sit at your computer and try yours.
offer to help them acquire a legal copy.

In a nutshell, it is not wrong to purchase an original licensed software since it will peace your mind from any doubt about quality and concern about legal issues for the company, free from virus, free from faults like malware, spy ware and etc.  You also can stay up-to-date to the software.  However, the choice is yours.


References
Korzeniowski, P. (1993). Software Lisencing. InfoWorld.
Misra, P. K. (1998). Patent No. 6189146. United States.
Sathish Candra, Francesco Regazzoni, Marcello Dajolo. (2006). Hardware/software partitioning of operating systems: a behavioral synthesis approach. GLSVLSI '06 Proceedings of the 16th ACM Great Lakes symposium on VLSI, 324.
Tim Maude,Derwent Maude . (Sept. 1984). Hardware protection against software piracy. Communications of the ACM Volume 27 Issue 9, 950.

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Week 3 - (C/LMS) Reflection

First of all, once I was assigned to do research on the topic Course/ Learning Management System a.k.a C/LMS, I was totally blank about it. Even, my partner Faidatul Syuhada Shamsuddin either did not know  about this matter. I admit that it took us so long to do reading and start doing assignment on this topic. For the first time I did reading, I found myself fall asleep. Poor me. =.="  I'm not really interested into this thing. However, I realized that I have to do something about it. Me and my partner have sat and now I managed to have the information on this C/LMS software. As the education in the world evolves around the technology based, the use of C/LMS is much more systematic and effective in having distance learning. There are a lot of C/LMS open website in internet such as joomla.org and drupal.org. We can just sign up and view the contents easily. It is effective as the students can obtain, access and share information with other learners around the world regardless time and place. I guess that are all about the C/LMS thing, not included the problem with google.doc thing. The problem I faced with google document is my partner and I did not know how to find google document and upload the C/LMS in yahoo group in the form of pdf. Therefore, we put an effort to ask my classmates on the matter instead of trying to figure it out ourselves.

Week 3 - COURSE/ LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (C/LMS)

What is C/LMS?

C/LMS is a software where you can add, edit, manage your own online course, mostly for educational purpose. You do not need to know the HTML or other computer languages. Since it provides you with the sets of tools and models, things will be much easier for you to do the content of the online course. Besides, you also can determine who to access and on what  content of the course.  

where can we use C/LMS?

The education nowadays are moving forward towards the excellence and success. The students are more advance in using the technology tools and internet facilities. Hence, the C/LMS has become essential on campuses. This is because it is much easier for them to manage their education. All learners can easily access the C/LMS software as long as they have the computer and internet connection. Therefore, all people around the world can access and join C/LMS website as it is universal.

how  to use C/LMS?

first, sign up for an account on the website. it will always show you the steps and follow the instructions closely. then, organize the application and create a page. after that, create your own module. in order to avoid long descriptions,you can use the abbreviations. After that, create sections and categories for easier and systematic use. then, you can just displaying your contents for information sharing.

who can use C/LMS?

Anyone who involve in educational field can use C/LMS. AsC/LMS have become the essentials on campuses and have evolved in relating multifunctional way communication tools between faculty and students, the lecturers and the students are indirectly involved in this use of C/LMS. Besides, the instructors and the teachers are able to use C/LMS. 

Why use C/LMS?

As updated technology was growing like a mushroom after the rain nowadays, either do the C/LMS. They also play the same importance role for education field in learning and teaching. Since it also contain an administrative aspect that distribute directly to aspect of teaching. So,it is easier for the student to interact with the teachers directly from the online course. This software also can be followed by the student 24 hours per day.


Advantages of using C/LMS?

When using this device, you can save a lot of time on creating this course and the administrative system also automated. Students also can always survey and follow it anywhere and anytime they want. It also can keep student profile, which their can survey their student and helps them when needed. Also, only a few instructors needed to check the flow of this course, in order to make sure the student on the right track and correct them if they wrong.

List (Open source software)

   1. open source CMS- www.joomla.org
   2. UKM-SPIN -  www.spin.ukm.my
   3. Open source contents management platform- drupal.org
   4. Blackboard- www.blackboard.com

References

Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://www.a3webtech.com/index.php/how-to-use-cms.html
Retrieved July 25, 2011 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/DEC0302.pdf

Tuesday 19 July 2011

week 2 (original and licensing software)

this is pair work that needs me to work collaboratively with my partner, faidatul syuhada shamsuddin :-)

Before going further details, let define the word 'software' first. Software is  a program that organized information in the form of operating systems, utilities, programs, and applications that enable computers to work.
Software can be divided into two main categories:

(1) System software
it controls the basic (and invisible to the user) functions of a computer and comes usually preinstalled with the machine.
It consists of operating systems; devise drivers, servers, windowing systems and utilities.

(2) Application software
it handles multitudes of common and specialized tasks a user wants to perform, such as accounting, communicating, data processing, word processing. Application software consists of malware, adware/spyware, and greyware.


what is original software?
 first, the definition of original software is a privately held company providing automatic software testing products and services. Hence, the original software is the one created and designed by an individual or a company.They have the ownership of it as their intellectual property. Original software assures that the software is properly licensed and supported by the software company. While oppose to the matter is the pirate software which is the software that has no licensed and illegally distributed. the original software is just the same with the genuine software. if you are using the pirate software for Microsoft office as an example, the notification will always appear on your screen saying that your Microsoft is not genuine.

that is meant you are not using the original software and if you keep using the software, it will harm your computer system.  There is a difference between pirated software and original software. The original software comes with guarantee that it is not infected with any viruses and it will work properly.The example of original software is:
original software-windows 7



Many of the users use the pirate software as it is free and easy to find while the original one need money to spend on it.  People always come into a problem when the matter is related to money. Although original software is a little expensive but it is more reliable then a pirated software.

What is licensing software?
When you browse through the internet on 'licensing software', it is hardly found. you will mostly found the word ' software licensing'. Actually it is just the same which bring the meaning in which a contract  of agreement between the software publisher and the end user. It is sometimes called as the End User License Agreement,( EULA).  This licensing software will always be found when the users want to install the software that they want to use such as the installation of the broadband, the Adobe Photoshop software, and etc. when they install these softwares, they will experience the time when they are asked either to accept the license or to disagree. if the users does not agree to the software licensing terms, they will just have to indicate so with just a click. this step will abort the installation process. however, in most cases, the users will click in agreement whether they actually read the license or not and I'm sure many of them just accept the terms without reading it. these are the examples of the licensing software that include licensing agreement: 
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however, as users we have to know the roles played by the licensing software towards the software itself. therefore, the purposes of the licensing software are to protects the copyright by placing restrictions on the end user in relation to the product, to restrict reverse engineering and bypassing controls intended to cut down on pirating and as a kind of disclaimer.


references
 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/software.html
 http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2006/types_of_software.asp
 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-software-licensing.htm
 http://www.techreaders.com/2010/02/benefits-of-using-original-software/

REFLECTION


For the first time in my life I have to search something related to software. Actually, I just heard the term "software" before without really knowing the exact meaning of it. Not to even mention the term of original and licensing software. However, after doing reading and research on the internet, I finally reach the information and instill the knowledge in my head. As users, we don't just having computer without knowing what is the best thing for our computer and what will harm the computer. we have to know that the pirate software is not good for the computer. However, many of us prefer to use it as it is free and easy to use compare to the original software that needs the users to buy it in order to have it in the computer.  My partner and I put some effort to have the discussion on this topic and I am not about to mention again about the wireless connection as you all know it already, and yes I'm using my new broadband, just for the sake that I want to make myself easy in learning the contents of this course . Moreover, this assignments need us to take part in the discussion that provide us with various opinion and point of view from others. As a conclusion, this assignment give advantages and benefits to me. It teaches me to be a patient person in order to master the skills in learning using the internet-based tools.




Tuesday 12 July 2011

1ST WEEK CLASS

hi there.. very late of me to publish this first entry and i guess all of my classmates have done it all earlier. well, having the probs with the
poor internet connection though, things I can't help.

As for now, I'm going to tell you briefly about what I have learned in GE1155 Computer in Education subject. 1st we have to :

1. register Official email by using both google account and yahoo account. Doesn't matter if we have one before, we have to create the new one officially as we will be using this account for academic purposes. :)  As we finish creating the official account, we have to put signature for both accounts. so how to do it? it is simple. I just follow these steps n so should you.
for yahoo account: simply click on mail option. as you noticed the "signature" on your left pane , just click on it. edit the text as I have to put my full name, the program I'm taking- B.Ed TESL and the institution. 
for gmail account: looking for setting and just click it. then, find for "signature" and edit the text. 

simple right?? :D

ops! one more thing, I have to send my email to my course coordinator, Dr. Fatimah Mohd Yasin, IPG Sarawak's lecturer and my lecturer, Tg Norazlan. 

2. register official facebook account..  I use my yahoo account created before to create my official fb account. the steps are just as easy as ABC. just fill up the form and sign up. then, just follow the steps one by one. and after a few minutes, I can enjoy adding my classmates, course lecture and course coordinator to be friends with them on fb. one important thing, I have to edit fb setting to put my username the same as my yahoo account. 

3. create facebook group. this fb group has to be created individually and name the goup with my name and set it to close group. I have to invite my classmates, course lecture and course coordinator. just click on "create group" for the start. 

4. join a yahoo groups. using my yahoo account, I am assigned to join this official yahoo groups and introduce my self. this group is for the CiE course as created by course coordinator. 

5. create my own yahoo groups. name the group with my matrix number , my name and IPG. set to close group. just click on "start your group" and follow the instructions. then, send invitation to my course coordinator, course lecturer and friends. 

6. blog registration.  I create this blog using my google account created before.  this official blog have to be created using my name. so now, in this blog I have to make a complete notes of what I have learned during the first week of class. I have to include the steps involved in creating all those emails, fb and blog things. therefore I think, i have done it all. 

as for reflection, doing all this things are interesting. however, I must admit that there are certain things really confusing me, as to put the signature, to edit the username, and etc because I'm not well used to it before. so now, it kind of new knowledge for me. having the poor wireless internet connection prevent me from finishing my work earlier. :p
looking forward for a better connection ..