Computer Ethics, Summer 2019, Class 2

Class 2 Readings

Read the first three sections of Baase chapter 1 and at least the first section of chapter 4, especially:
    Video sharing in §1.2.1
    Cellphone case-study in §1.2.2
    What is intellectual property?: §4.1.1

Before class 2, finish reading chapter 1 and read the first three sections of chapter 4.

The main course notes are in the Notes Organized by Topic section on the main web page. Reading assignments, comments on the class discussion and occasional special notices are in these week-by-week notes.

News item:

I found this article: bbc.com/news/business-47802280; "How computing's first killer app changed everything". While people had been buying computers specifically to run word processing for some time, the article refers to the release of Dan Bricklin's VisiCalc spreadsheet in 1979, for the Apple II.

The claim of the article is that, first, there are now 400,000 fewer "accounting clerks" employed today in the US, versus in 1980. These were the people who, before VisiCalc, made entries into paper accounting ledgers. But there are also 600,000 more full accountants today.

Also, "spread sheet" was a 1970's accounting term for a double page in an accounting ledger.


Begin with "Are we owed money when someone takes our idea?"