Encouraging Illegal Immigration (A Crime?)

In 1986, a federal law was passed that made it illegal to encourage immigrants who came into the United States illegally, or who were trying to, to come or stay in the country without proper authorization and documentation. While there are still some in support of this, some have raised a question about if this law violates the First Amendment's freedom of speech. Some Justices, such as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, feel that it is not lawful to consider those who encourage illegal immigrants criminally complicit, "...a grandmother whose granddaughter is in the United States illegally, would it be a crime if she told her granddaughter, 'I hope you will stay because, you know, I will miss you; things will not get better if you go back, so I encourage you to stay'". While on the other hand, some think the First Amendment is not relevant in this case. Attorney Eric J Feigin argues that the statute is not intended to be directed at speech.
The criminal justice system is full of gray areas, where right and wrong are not always black and white. There are always ethical, moral, emotional, and situational factors that play a part in tying to determine what the right thing to do it. This is a great example of that. Is it a criminal act for people to encourage their family members to stay in a country that is safer, full of better opportunity, better living conditions, etc., just because they were not born here? The use of the word "encourage" in the statute is up for debate. Does encouraging account for the words they use to try and get illegal immigrants to come to our country or to continue to stay here? Does it apply to the resources they might make available to them to stay, such as a place to stay, schooling, etc.? I definitely see where an argument could be made that this statute is in violation of the First Amendment, but I do not think that is how many people would interpret it, or how it was intended to be.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/us/politics/supreme-court-immigration-first-amendment.html
https://www.npr.org/2017/03/29/521920595/canadians-report-more-scrutiny-and-rejection-at-u-s-border-checkpoints

Facebook (Privacy) Settings

Most everyone we know has a Facebook page. We use Facebook to connect with old friends, family, the latest cat videos, the list goes on. When you create an account, Facebook asks for information like your name, date of birth, phone number, etc. When we create these accounts, we are entrusting the company with this private information. But what if this information were to become not so private?
In September of 2019, Elliott Murray, the CEO of a cybersecurity company found a public online database containing phone numbers of Facebook users, that could be traced back to the person using their known phone number. It has since been fixed, but this is a large issue when it comes to. online privacy and security. It is not safe to have your personal information on a database online that is accessible by the public.
My friends, family, and I all have accounts with Facebook. It frightens me to think that someone had the capability of going online and finding their personal information. The article did not update that the database was no longer available online until five days after it was found. In the Facebook Data Use policy, it explains how your data that you enter is used. In this instance, your phone number and email can be used by others who have that information, to search for your account. As a Facebook user, you have the ability to turn this setting off on your account, where people cannot search your phone number or email and find your account. When the database was discovered, that took the discretion away from the Facebook user, whether that feature was enabled on your account or not, people could find you if they knew little bit of your information. This could have lead to the breaching or hacking of accounts, which could have lead to even worse issues. It's a good thing Facebook took care of this issue, but is that the only database out there? Is our information we share online to these social media providers really safe?

https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/terms-conditions-facebooks-data-use-policy-explained/
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-user-phone-numbers-still-online/

Apple's First iPod

Apple is a large company that offers phones, laptops, earphones, watches, smart pens, and mp3 players. Apple first released an mp3 player, called an iPod, in October of 2001. The iPod was available in white only, and in 5GB and 10GB of storage. Depending on which capacity, it could hold 1,000-2,000 songs, and was priced from $399-$499. The battery on the iPod lasted for 10 hours. In the first 2 months, Apple sold 25,000 iPods.

Apple was not the first to put out an mp3 player. Despite other companies already launching mp3 players, Apple's iPod was looked at as the best one on the market. The iPod was the start of Apple's sleek design that they are known for with all of their products. The iPod also led to the creation of iTunes. Prior to iTunes, listeners had to burn songs onto the iPod from CD's. iTunes allowed for listeners to download their music straight from the app and put it onto the iPod. 

Fast forward to 2020, 19 years after the launch of Apple's first iPod. The most recent iPod that has been released is the 7th Generation iPod Touch. It was released in May of 2019 and is available in the colors Pink, Red, Gray, Silver, Gold, Blue, and Red. They are also sold in three different storage capacities, 32GB, 128GB, and 256GB. The price of the iPod ranges from $199-$399. It can hold 8,000-33,000 songs, and has a battery life up to 40 hours. In direct comparison to the first iPod, just a few of the changes we can see superficially are the cameras both on the front and back of the device, the touchscreen display, all of the different apps that can be used on the mp3 player, and countless more advancements. 

When we think of all of the changes and advancements that have been made in the technology industry, we think of how we went to cassette tapes and records, to CD players, and VHS tapes to DVDs and then to streaming. W tend to overlook the enormous changes that occur, even within just a single company, and even just a singular product. In 19 years, we can see the immense changes and differences between Apple's first iPod and their most recent one. iPods are not as popular now due to Apple's iPhone's capability to do everything that the iPod can do, as well as everything a phone can do. Apple is a great representation of the technological advances that we have seen in just the past 19 years, and a foreshadowing of the great things that have yet to come in the technological world.


https://www.cnet.com/pictures/the-complete-history-of-apples-ipod/
https://www.lifewire.com/history-ipod-classic-original-2000732
https://www.apple.com/ipod-touch/specs/

The Beginning of Google

Google is a widely-used search engine that has really blossomed into a corporation that offers email, phone systems, maps, and many more. Google also owns other companies such as YouTube and Android. Started at Stanford University by two graduate students, it was first called BackRub. 70 Percent of people around the world use Google in some way. Google is useful for people of all ages, professions, and for many different reasons. It can be used by students for research, by kids for games and music, it can be used to find companies for hire, restaurants, GPS maps, pictures, and almost anything you can think of.

I myself use Google on a daily basis. Anytime I look up anything on the internet I immediately type in Google.com first. I like the way Google displays their search results, the things they recommend by my search, and it is comfortable to use. I like Google because it is compatible. It makes it easy to do group projects using Google Slides and Google Docs. Being able to collaborate on a project with people when you are not physically together is one of my favorite things that Google provides. I did not realize that Google owned the companies that it does. I was aware that Android used a Google system in their phones, but I did not know that Google owned Android. I was also unaware that Google owned YouTube, which is also a very commonly used website/app. I use YouTube to watch music videos, watch lecture videos, and sometime I get lost on the app and just watch videos for hours.
Google is an extremely large corporation that we use every day, whether we realize it or not. I think we have benefitted a lot from Google and the services they provide. Gmail, Google maps, Google slides/docs, Google Earth, YouTube, are all things that I know many people use every single day.

(Source: Class Presentation)
http://www.rubelmahmud.com/useful-google-products-services-you-probably-dont-introduce-yet/