Name: Alejandro Jerez

UB ID#: 1144309

Class: INSS 300 (web course)

Assignment 3 (individual)

(Information/Internet Literacy)

INSS 300

Spring 2011

Due: May 10, 2011

"Today it is much easier to build IT-based systems and use them efficiently and effectively than it has ever been." Despite this, information systems projects are often problematic: either failing to satisfy their intended purpose, or failing to do it on time and on-budget.

PART 1

  1. Look up a report or news or a case of a recent (within last year..2010) information systems failure(use an example not in the text). This report can come from any credible internet source (web site).
  2. Describe the technology
  3. Describe why it was considered a failure (e.g., economically, technically, strategic advantage).
  4. identify web search keywords used (combinations “AND’ / “OR” etc.)
  5. Evaluate the sources (see weekly readings)

Answer:

The recent hacking of SONY’s PlayStation Network between April 17 and April 19, 2011 in which service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into SONY’s network. In the two days that the systems were compromised, PlayStation Network with 77 million users and the Sony Online Entertainment Network with 25 million users were hacked.

SONY has been smart and has reassured its users, by writing on SONY’s blog that the company is working diligently in solving the situation. In the company’s blog, users who may have been affected are given information to check their credit scores, for example.

Because this incident happened quite recently, there is plenty of information online. I used the following keywords: SONY + hacking incident; Hacking + newest incident.

As for evaluating the sources, I found SONY’s blog very helpful in directing its users to the proper locations to inspect their credit scores. I also found this location a good starting point to find out how the news media is approaching it. Amongst the different news articles profiled in my search, I found this very funny because it mentions the move “Hackers” to explain the seriousness of the situation to less-technical readers.

Because the incident happened last month, the only information that was able to find were newspapers and technical journals online.

PART 2

  1. Look up a recent (2010-) IT-based innovation which was a success.

a.Describe the technology.

b.Explain how it was successful (e.g., economically, technically, strategic advantage).

Answer:

The announcement that Google confirmed late last night that it is set to launch an online music service at its annual Google I/O developers conference. This announcement is interesting in that the service that Google will launch is not going to be like Napster, which gained the scorn of the music business for letting users download music without paying. Google’s music service is designed to enable users to upload songs and then stream them onto smartphone or PCs, according to the Journal, which added that Google hasn't secured licenses from the four major recorded-music companies, so the service would not allow people to download music.

Considering that Apple is going to set to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google. Further in the article, it appears that Apple, not Google, has secured deals with 2 of the 4 major music labels to sell music.

The thing that is easy to decipher from all of this is that a company has to have plenty of cash just to enter the highly competitive business of music. You cannot do it on the cheap.

PART 3

  1. Do you believe the IT industry learns from its mistakes? Why (or why not)?

List your information sources where appropriate. The intention of the assignment is Information literacy—how to search articles, how to evaluate sources, apply/extract quality information and to get you thinking about the Strategic use of IT in an interdisciplinary environment.

Answer:

The IT industry indeed learns from its past mistakes. From its early inception, ARPANET/DARPA was first created to serve to assist the technological needs of the U.S. Army. After several years of being subsidized, the people at the helm realized that high technology could be put to use for the private sector. Consider, for example, the Information Sciences Institute helped spearhead development of the Internet, including the Domain Name System and refinement of TCP/IP communications protocols. In 1998, ICANN was created to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly on behalf of the U.S. government by other organizations, notably the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Due to the exponential growth of the Internet, the private sector, once again, would be used to pick the mantle, and Go Daddy, the company with the racy marketing, has grown to become the largest ICANN-accredited registrar on the Internet.

Doing the research for this paper, I came to find out the owner the company is Bob Parsons and he is University of Baltimore alum, class of 1975.

It should not be more than two/three pages long (double space 12 font). Quality matters more than quantity.

To be submitted: (in WORD file)

  1. Your report
  2. Appendix A

Appendix A: Grading Criteria

Requirements / Maximum Points / Your Points
PART 1
a.. / 3
b / 7
c. / 3
d. / 5
PART 2
a. / 3
b. / 7
PART 3 / 2
TOTAL / 30