updated news on that huge fine for illegal file sharing

Thomas-Rasset Rejects RIAA's Settlement Offer
(January 27, 2010)
Just days after a judge reduced the penalties levied against Jammie
Thomas-Rasset for illegal file sharing from US $1.92 million to US
$54,000, the Minnesota mother of four has rejected an offer from the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to settle the case out
of court for US $25,000. US District Judge Michael Davis reduced the
penalty because he said it bore no "relation to the actual damages."
One of Thomas-Rasset's attorneys, Joe Sibley, said his client rejected
the RIAA's settlement offer because the amount was still "exorbitant"
and the RIAA was using the case to make an example of his client and
"scare people into doing what they [the RIAA] want." The offer from the
RIAA was also contingent upon Thomas-Rasset asking Judge Davis to vacate
his decision to reduce the penalty.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/01/settlement-rejected-in-shocking-riaa-file-sharing-verdict/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10442482-261.html

Judge Reduces Illicit File-Sharing Fine from $2M to $54k

Gee, only a $54,000 fine for illegal file sharing. What a break! The single mom must be so happy that she's not on the hook for the original $54 million that the first judged fined her. Of course, she still has to sell everything she owns and declare bankruptcy ...
Judge Reduces Illicit File-Sharing Fine from $2M to $54k

Is your password THIS bad?

According to a recent article in the Toronto Star, these are the 32 most popular passwords. (Can the average person really be this dumb?)
1. 123456
2. 12345
3. 123456789
4. password
5. iloveyou
6. princess
7. rockyou
8. 1234567
9. 12345678
10. abc123
11. nicole
12. daniel
13. babygirl
14. monkey
15. jessica
16. lovely
17. michael
18. ashley
19. 654321
20. qwerty
21. iloveu
22. michelle
23. 111111
24. 0
25. tigger
26. password1
27. sunshine
28. chocolate
29. anthony
30. angel
31. FRIENDS (yes, all caps)
32. soccer

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the "language" used to create Web pages.

We will begin by learning the basics, using Notepad to write our own HTML. Then we will learn how to use Dreamweaver, which creates HTML files using a MSWord-like interface.

The handouts are now available on http://bta.posterous.com/.

There is lots of excellent online help for learning and practising HTML. I recommend the following:

http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
A very good online tutorial in HTML, teaching the skills step by step. Includes “live” practice, where you type HTML into an area on the screen and see the results in a second area. More than the basics—tables, frames and forms

http://www.webmonkey.com/webmonkey/reference/html_cheatsheet/
Quick reference for HTML tags.

http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_intro.asp
Good Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) tutorial. We don't cover CSS in this course, so look at this site if you want to go beyond what we teach.

http://www.echoecho.com/css.htm
Another good CSS tutorial.

http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/quick-tutorial.html
Quick tutorial on CSS.

http://www.w3.org/
Word Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The official source of standards for the World
Wide Web. The final word on HTML, XHTML, CSS, etc.

Excel - PIvot tables

If your data in Excel is in a list (remember, you've learned what an Excel list is), you can view it and analyze in various ways using pivot tables.

A pivot table is like a cross-tab query in Access.

It is difficult to describe a pivot table in words, but once you've created one and worked with it, the idea is perfectly clear.

Creating and manipulating a pivot table in Excel is very easy, but the results look completely amazing to people who don't know about them. Amaze your friends! Impress your family! Talk about them in job interviews! They really make you look good.

Online Resources
• tinyurl.com/i0th - video demo on pivot tables on our website
  
• two video tutorials on YouTube -     1    ,     2    
  
• pivot table tutorial at Microsoft
  
• 25 Easy Pivot Tables from Microsoft
  
• Microsoft Excel Pivot Tables: A Business Software Tip by J. Carlton Collins, CPA from Microsoft
  
• Pivot table reports - tutorial from Microsoft
  
• Using pivot tables from Windows Skills
  
• 61 tips on Excel Pivot tables from Excel Tips
  
• Excel pivot table fundamentals from Ozgrid.com
  
• video tutorial on pivot tables from Metacafe.com
  

Excel Test Tuesday, Jan. 26

On Tuesday, Jan. 26 there will be a test covering the following topics in Excel -
* Conditional formatting
* Data validation
* Sorting
* Filtering
* Goal Seek
* Scenarios
* Pivot tables

This test gives you the opportunity to improve your February report card.

STUDYING - One good way to prepare for this test, in addition to studying from the yellow booklet, is to use the links on this blog to read several online explanations and view several online video tutorials. Going over similar information from various sources is an excellent way to learn.

schedule for next 2 weeks

Week of January 11
- Data Validation
- Sorting and Filtering
- Goal Seek and Scenarios

Week of January 18
- Pivot Tables
- Pivot Tables
- Test

Excel - sorting and filtering

• Excel AutoFilter Makes Spreadsheets More Useful
  
• Filtering in Excel 2003
  
• Excel lists - Microsoft tutorial - teaches sorting and filtering by using the List command
  
  There aren't many video tutorials for sorting and filtering on Youtube:
  
• Sorting data in Excel 2003 - YouTube video tutorial
  
• Excel 2003 Autofilter - YouTube video tutorial
  

Filesharer fined US $675,000 for downloading 30 songs

Here is a recent news item that reminds us of how serious it can be to get caught downloading illegal files.

Convicted Filesharer Seeks Lower Fine
(January 4 & 5, 2010)
The Boston University student who was fined US $675,000 for illegally
downloading music has asked a judge to reduce the penalty or give him a
retrial. Joel Tenenbaum, who was fined US $22,500 for each of 30 songs
he was found guilty of downloading in violation of copyright law, says
the amount is "grossly excessive."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8441306.stm
ttp://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=947654

Excel - Data validation

• Create an Excel drop-down list
  
  Video tutorials -
  
• Data validation - YouTube video tutorial
  
• Adding an in-cell dropdown menu - YouTube video tutorial
  
• Drop Down List in Excel - YouTube video tutorial
  

Excel re-test on Friday, Jan. 8 -- templates, linking, protection

 

There will be a re-test on Friday, Jan. 8 covering the following topics in Excel (notice that IF and VLOOKUP will not be on test):

--> templates
      * Be careful to save your templates on your home drive.
      * To open a file based on a template, double-click on the icon for the file.

--> linking
      * Open all files in the same "session" of Excel using File / Open.

--> protection

week of Dec. 14: Excel Testm

 

There will be a on Tuesday covering the following topics in Excel:

--> templates
      * Be careful to save your templates on your home drive.
      * To open a file based on a template, double-click on the icon for the file.

--> linking
      * Use absolute cell references (F4) for the lookup table.
      * Open all files in the same "session" of Excel using File / Open.

--> protection

--> the IF function
      * No nested IF functions will be on the test.

--> the VLOOKUP function
      * Use absolute cell refernces (F4) for the lookup table.
      * Be prepared to translate an English description of a lookup situation into a correct table in Excel.
      * Be careful about the first value (top left corner) in your lookup table.
      * Know when to use FALSE as a fourth parameter - when you want an exact match.

VLOOKUP online video demos

In addition to the video demo of VLOOKUP on our website, here are a few more animated VLOOKUP tutorials


• YouTube has several excellent examples
  
• LondondLearning.com - Enjoy that British accent!
  
• wmich.edu - simple but illustrates how VLOOKUP works, at least in part
  
  

the key to understanding VLOOKUP

If you feel unsure about the VLOOKUP function, the safest approach is to keep in mind how it works. Try to picture all this in your mind. It may sound complicated in words, but the idea is not difficult.

Imagine you are converting a student percentage mark in G4 to a letter grade.
e.g. =VLOOKUP(G4, H1:J5, 2)
The first two parameters of the function simply tell Excel (1) where the value is that is going to be compared to the lookup table, then (2) where the lookup table is


• Excel goes to the TOP ROW of the FIRST COLUMN of the table (H1).
  
  
• It checks to see whether G4is GREATER than the value in H1.
  
  
• If G4 is greater than the value in H1, Excel moves DOWN to the next row of the table, that is, to H2.
  
  
• Again it checks see whether G4is GREATER than the value in H@.
  
  
• It continues doing this checking and moving down the table until it finds the value in the first row of the table that is greater than G4.
  
  
• When G4 is greater than the value in the table, it moves back UP one row in the table.
  
  
• It "returns" whatever it finds in the SECOND COLUMN of the table.
  

NOTE: When you use the fourth parameter, "FALSE," Excel only looks for an exaact match

Excel assignment - the IF function

Here is another simple exercise to help boost your mark, this time using the IF function in Excel.

Create a self-named file (e.g. BarackO_IFassignment.xls) and copy it to the Dropoff Folder when you are finished.

Create the file as shown for A1:B2 so that when A1 has a value higher than 36.8, B1 and B2 show the messages illustrated. If A1 has a value equal to or lower than 36.8, both B1 and B2 show the message illustrated in the green box.

Excel - easy assignment on cell protection

Excel - online resources for the IF function

There don't seem to be a lot of online tutorials for Excel's IF function, and those I've looked at explain it pretty much the same way our workbook explains it. However, you might look at the links below:

• tinyurl.com/i0th - video demo on our website
  
• Microsoft - with 4 examples, including nested IF functions - at the IF function
  
• MakeTips - =IF Function for Value or Calculation Based on Criteria
  
  NESTED IF FUNCTIONS
  
  We don't emphasize nesting IF functions. We just look at it briefly to get a taste of what it is. Finally, we look at its limitations, experiencing how messy it gets when you nest too many IF functions; this shows us why we need the VLOOKUP function as an alternative.
  
  
  
• About.com
  
• Techon theNet
  
• The Spreadsheet Page - nested IF functions and VLOOKUP
  
• Online Investing Hacks, "Make Nested Functions Work in Excel" - interesting if you have some background in computer programming
  
• Pearson Software Consulting - interesting if you have some background in computer programming
  

Excel - protection(locking and unlocking cells)

In addition to our own video tutorial on this topic, there is also an excellent video tutorial on YouTube over 4 minutes long with audio -




Another, also quite good (it's always helpful to hear more than one way of explaining something) is this -

Excel - linking workbooks

Excel 2003 -- links

Some of the Excel features you'll be learning are shown in our video tutorials at http://tinyurl.com/i0th.

* Linking cells between worksheets
* Cell Protection
      -- protect cells to prevent user input
* Functions
      -- IF
      -- VLOOKUP
* Conditional Formatting
      -- format cells which meet specified conditions
* Data validation
      -- validate data as it is entered
* Pivot Tables
      -- analyze an Excel database ("list") with a pivot table
* Scenarios
      -- create scenarios
      -- create a scenario summary

The videos show Excel version 2000, not 2003, but there are few significant differences.

a second BTA blog

You already know about the regular BTA blog at http://bta3o1jarvis.blogspot.com/.


And don't forget the video tutorials at tinyurl.com/i0th.



Now there is a new, second blog at http://bta.posterous.com/ where you can find pages of the yellow booklet in .doc format. This should be handy in case you forget your booklet or want to see it when you don't have it nearby. Click on the plus sign to see the document in a more readable size.

week of Nov. 16

This week there will be a test on the following topics:
* - copyright
* - trademarks
* - patents
* - licensing


Then we begin Excel.

my recommendations for some great free software

• AVG free anti-virus software at http://free.grisoft.com/.
  
  For a review of half a dozen free anti-virus programs see http://askbobrankin.com/free_antivirus_programs.html. There's NO EXCUSE to run a computer with no antivirus software on it!
  
  
• Free firewall software -
  ZoneAlarm http://www.download.com/3000-2092-10039884.html
  Comodo at http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
  
  
• OpenOffice at http://openoffice.org. A complete alternative to Microsoft Office.
  
  
• Firefox at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/. A great Web browser. Be sure to check out the "extensions" you can add on to Firefox.
  
  
• xplorer2 at http://www.zabkat.com/. A greatly improved file manager compared to Windows Explorer.
  
  
• Text editors better than Microsoft NotePad
  NoteTab Lite at http://www.notetab.com/. Excellent, with lots of features.
  NotePad2 at http://www.flos-freeware.ch/notepad2.html
  NotePad++ at http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm. Especially good for writing computer code because it includes syntax highlighting for HTML, XML, Javascript, PHP, Pascal, C++, and many other programming languages.
  PDPad at http://www.pspad.com/en/pspad.htm. Syntax highlighting, templates, FTP client to edit files from your website, macro recorder, hex editor, and more.
  
  
• Hex Editor XVI32 for programmers at http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.htm
  
  
• IrfanView, great image viewer/editor for daily use at http://www.irfanview.com/. Also plays video files, slideshows, and more. (Great, but does not seem to work with Vista.)
  
  
• GIMP image editor, an alternative to Photoshop at http://www.gimp.org/windows/
  
  
• 7-Zip alternative to WinZip or WinRar http://www.7-zip.org/
  
  
• Audacity editor for sound files at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
  
  
• TrueCrypt file encryption at http://www.truecrypt.org/
  
  
• VLC Media Player at http://www.videolan.org/vlc/. Capable of reading most audio and video formats (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, DivX, MPEG-1, mp3, ogg, aac ...) as well as DVDs, Audio CDs VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
  
  
• NVu HTML creator, an alternative to Dreamweaver at http://nvudev.com/index.php. Or Kompozer at http://www.kompozer.net/, or BlueGriffon at http://bluegriffon.org/.
  

There are lots of freeware websites. Some, however, waste your time by listing trialware as well as genuine freeware. An example of a good freeware site is FreewareHome at http://www.freewarehome.com/

Sites for open source software include The OSSwin project: Open Source for Windowshttp://osswin.sourceforge.net/. This might be a little overwhelming.

One site listing open source software and freeware is Jason's Free Useful Software at http://www.jasonchen.com/free_software/

Death of the black box EULA

A blog on ZDnet has an interesting and amusing article suggesting that the growth of open source software spells the "death of the black box EULA."

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=5350&tag=wrapper;col1

EULAs

WHAT IS A EULA?

Read the short explanation of EULAs and their importance at http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/faq/a/eula.htm

For more information see the Wikipedia article “Software Licenses” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EULA


The Microsoft Windows XP EULA

A page on the Microsoft Web site says the following:

The EULA for Microsoft Windows may be found in one of several different locations, depending on your Microsoft product. The three most common locations for the license agreement are: (1) printed on a separate piece of paper that accompanies the product; (2) printed in the User's Manual, usually on the inside front cover or the first page of the manual; or (3) located online within the software product. For Microsoft Windows, a copy of the EULA is usually stored in the Windows (or WINNT) / System32 directory with the filename eula.txt.

Since most people install software without reading the EULA, it is worthwhile to look at one example of a EULA that affects most of us, the license we agree to when we buy the Microsoft Windows operating system. Browse through the EULA for the Windows XP, then answer the following questions:

a. Quote the statement in the EULA governing renting or lending.
b. Products identified as "North America Only Version” may not be exported beyond the U.S. and Canada. What is the reason for this restriction?
c. How long is the warranty?
d. If the product does not perform the way it should, what is your remedy under the warranty?
e. What does the warranty say about damage done by the product if it misperforms?
f. What is the final statement of the EULA?


BAD EULAS

Make sure you understand what spyware is and how it works by visiting these sites:
Look at definitions of spyware at Google: define:spyware and for a more detailed article at Wikipedia.

Search to find the EULA of an application you use at EULA Hall of Shame.

Check the following resources:

The Importance of EULA

It Pays to Read License Agreements

A Crusade Against Bad EULAs

Trying to Decipher that EULA? Better Have a PhD


Keep your business in compliance with the law - further reading

You may be using Windows XP Home Edition on your home computer. Have you ever looked at the EULA? Do you know what your legal obligations are? How well could you answer questions such as:

• How can I be certain I have legitimate Microsoft products if they came preinstalled on my computer's hard disk?

• Can I make a second copy of my Windows operating system software for my portable computer?

• What is the minimum amount of documentation I should keep to prove my software products are legally licensed?

• What if I've upgraded from an earlier version of Windows? Do I still need to keep my earlier copy of Windows as part of my legally acquired product?

As a business professional, it’s recommended that you take some time to learn the licensing basics of ALL the software you use.

compliance services / software asset management

Making sure that the software on your company's computers is legal, that you have all the invoices and licences for it and that it complies with all the conditions of your licences can be a big job. Many companies hire an outside firm to take care of this side of their business. Below are examples of companies in the business known as compliance services / software asset management.

Companies take great care in ensuring that all the software on their computers comply with licensing agreements. You can even hire a company to help you in this process.

Conrad Associates

Belarc

Elite Compliance

Centennial Software

common types of shareware (demoware, nagware, crippleware)

Below are explanations of various types of shareware you are likely to encounter, summarized from Wikipedia.

Shareware
The term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a periodical such as a newspaper or magazine. The aim of shareware is to give buyers the opportunity to use the program and judge its usefulness before purchasing a license for the full version of the software.
Shareware is usually offered as a trial version with certain features only available after the license is purchased, or as a full version, but for a trial period. Once the trial period has passed the program may stop running until a license is purchased. Shareware is often offered without support, updates, or help menus, which only become available with the purchase of a license.

Demoware
Demoware (also known as trialware) is commercial software released for free (shareware) in a version which is limited in one or more ways. Some of the most common limitations are:
• Software remains functional only for a limited time, such as a set number of days after installation, days actually used, number of times the program is launched, or the length of each program session.
• Adds identifying marks or signatures to output files. Common with image and video editing demoware.
• Restricts or blocks access to an important function, such as saving the current document to a project file, or burning a CD.
In addition, the software usually hides a code somewhere on the computer system (in Microsoft Windows, often somewhere in the registry) that prevents removal and re-installation of the demo in an attempt to reset the trial period. Once the trial period is complete, the user must purchase a registration code to continue using the software.

Nagware
Nagware (also known as begware, annoyware or a nagscreen) is a type of shareware that reminds (or nags) the user to register it by paying a fee. It usually does this by popping up a message when the user starts the program, or intermittently while the user is using the application. These messages can appear as windows obscuring part of the screen or message boxes that can quickly be closed. Some nagware keeps the message up for a certain time period, forcing the user to wait to continue to use the program. The intent is generally that the user will become so annoyed with the messages that he or she will register or buy it to get rid of them. Naturally, there is a fine line to be walked — if reminders are too annoying, users may abandon a program without even evaluating it fully, which is as much a lost sale as a failure to register or buy. Examples of nagware are Windows Genuine Advantage, WinRAR, WinZip, and mIRC.

Crippleware
Crippleware is any product whose functions have been limited (or "crippled") with the sole purpose of requiring the user to pay for those functions (either paying a one-time fee or continually paying a service). Crippleware programs are usually freeware versions of computer programs that lack the most advanced (or in some cases, even crucial) features of the original program. Crippleware versions are made available in order to increase the popularity of the full program without giving it away free. An example of crippleware is a word processor that cannot save or print.

What is software licensing?

The following links explain what software licensing is -

http://www.softwarelicenses.org/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-different-types-of-software.htm

Understanding Open Source and Free Software Licensing - online O'Reilly book

software piracy, etc. is taken seriously

Here are some media reports showing how seriously software piracy and similar legal issues are taken -

RIAA sues grandmother for downloading Snoop Dogg

Virginia Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Selling Counterfeit Software Through the Internet

Teen convicted of illegal Net downloads

Four Plead Guilty to Music Piracy

California high school student has been arrested for breaking into the school district's computer system and copying files, usernames and passwords

Iowa Man Pleads Guilty in Piracy Case

Leader of piracy ring sentenced to four years in prison

Three convictions in Net piracy sweeps

Microsoft forgers get jail time in Taiwan

Junior High School Student Faces Expulsion for Deleting Teachers' Grade Files

Texas High School Student Arrested for Allegedly Stealing Test Information

After suing 35,000 people, the Recording Industry Association of America Chooses to Stop Suing Music Fans, Cut Them Off Instead

MIT, Harvard and Carnegie Mellon Business Schools Will Not Admit "Hackers"

French Legislators Approve Three-Strikes Anti-Piracy Law

Swedish Anti-Piracy Law Cuts Internet Traffic

the topic "Legal Issues"

The topic "Legal Issues" includes
* copyright
* trademarks
* patents
* licenses (with special emphasis on software licenses)

At the end of this unit there will be a test.