INB 201
Technology and Global Business

Fall 2009
T-TH 9:30 - 10:45
Cornell 221

Dr. Thomas Lairson
Cornell SS 214

407 646 2166
CSS 214
tlairson@rollins.edu
OH M and W 3:30 - 5

Goals of the course:

Messages of the Course:

Required Book:

Robert Cringley, Accidental Empires, Collins Business

Grade for the Course:

 Three Essay Exams  40%
 Class Participation  10%
 Blogs  15%
 Wiki  15%
 Final Exam  20%

Blogs: I expect each student to make a minimum of 10 posts with a minimum of 1000 words. The blog entries should be related to the topics of this course. The blogs will be evaluated as follows: The best post adds information to class material. For example, a blog could provide a link to a relevant web site plus your analysis of the web site. Or it could describe a relevant book or an article in a journal or magazine. It could simply provide an insightful discussion of the topic. The poorest post is perfunctory and done just because you have to, showing little thought and/or a superficial understanding of the topic. This is an opportunity to show an understanding of the material and even to be creative in discussing it. Use it wisely.
The blog for this course is found at:
http://globalbt.blogspot.com/

Wikis: This can be done in teams of 2-4. The purpose is to develop a wiki that examines a particular technology and its application to business. Topics can include but are not limited to:

Virtualization software
Video games
Videoconferencing/Telepresence

Review of Three TeleconferencingSystems


Digital Rights Management
Datamining

Data Analysts Captivated by R's Power
http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/R/sk/

WiMax
Simulation and Modeling

Crowd Modeling

Convergence
Open Source
Customer segmentation
Storage

Your task is to use the capabilities of a wiki to provide a description of the technology, including
how it works. In addition, you should discuss the development of the technology and potential
future capabilities. Finally, you need to describe the business applications and firms associated
with the technology.

Wiki Groups
DUE:
December 3, 5pm

Expectations of the Course:

 Honor Code: Rollins College has adopted an academic Honor Code. Students are expected to conduct themselves with complete honesty in all academic work and activities in this course. Violations of the Honor Code include plagiarism, cheating, unauthorized collaboration, submitting work prepared for another course, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty by another student, and violation of test conditions.

It is your obligation as a student in this class to learn what these violations entail and to behave accordingly. Ignorance is an unacceptable defense.  Violations of the honor include failure in the course and potential dismissal from the college.

Attendance: You are expected to be in class for each scheduled session, and you must be on time. Class attendance will taken every day. Anyone who misses more than three classes will be penalized by one-twelfth of their FINAL grade for each absence over three. Thus, a
student who misses eight classes (equal to one-third of the classes in this course) and who otherwise earns a "C" will in fact receive an "F" for the course.

Makeup exams: NO makeup exams are given "after the fact," that is, after the exam has occurred unless I have been contacted before the exam. If you miss the exam and have not contacted me before the exam, you will not be able to take a makeup.

There is no extra credit in this class.

Late Work:  You may NOT turn in work late.  ANY WORK TURNED IN AFTER THE DATE AND TIME DUE RECEIVES A ZERO

Classroom behavior: There are several forms of inappropriate behavior in this class. You may not sleep in this class; you may not have
extended private conversations in this class; you may not bring food to this class; and you may not get up and leave this class unless you are ill.

Classroom Preparation: You should expect to spend several hours preparing for each class. Failing to do so will result a serious negative effect on your final grade.  Most important, you will learn much less.  You cannot expect the professor to do all the work in class.  You can expect to be called on to discuss class material.  You must also spend time contributing to the blogs and to the wikis for the course.

Grade for the Course: There is no curve for the grade in this course; that is, you must meet an absolute standard set by me to succeed in the course. This means everyone can obtain an "A" but everyone can also receive an "F."

THE ACADEMIC HONOR CODE

Membership in the student body of Rollins College carries with it an obligation, and requires a commitment, to act with honor in all things. Because academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge and truth and is the heart of the academic life of Rollins College, it is the responsibility of all members of the College community to practice it and to report apparent violations.

The following pledge is a binding commitment by the students of Rollins College:

The development of the virtues of Honor and Integrity are integral to a Rollins College education and to membership in the Rollins College community. Therefore, I, a student of Rollins College, pledge to show my commitment to these virtues by abstaining from any lying, cheating, or plagiarism in my academic endeavors and by behaving responsibly, respectfully and honorably in my social life and in my relationships with others.

This pledge is reinforced every time a student submits work for academic credit as his/her own. Students shall add to all papers, quizzes, tests, lab reports, etc., the following handwritten abbreviated pledge followed by their signature:

"On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work."

Material submitted electronically should contain the pledge; submission implies signing the pledge.

Disabilities Statement

Rollins College is committed to equal access and does not discriminate unlawfully against persons with disabilities in its policies, procedures, programs or employment processes. The College recognizes its obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to provide an environment that does not discriminate against persons with disabilities.

If you are a person with a disability on this campus and anticipate needing any type of academic accommodations in order to participate in your classes, please make timely arrangements by disclosing this disability in writing to the Disability Services Office at (box 2613) - Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource Center, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park, FL, 37289 or call 407-646-2354 for an appointment.

FINAL EXAMINATIONS

The 15th week of classes in the fall and spring terms is reserved for final examinations. All courses include a final examination, with possible exceptions for performance, writing, independent study, or seminar courses where other means of evaluation are more appropriate.

The final examination must be offered in the time period scheduled in the examination matrix prepared by the Office of Student Records, unless the Dean of the Faculty has approved a change. An alternative period for unusual examination procedures, such as an oral examination, may be used provided the students involved do not thereby encounter conflicts with other scheduled examinations.

Tests or examinations may be offered through the 13th week (penultimate) of classes but must not be employed in lieu of a final examination.

Final papers, research reports and other similar assignments, except those in lieu of a final examination, should be due before examinations begin to help students avoid conflicts.

If a student has more than two final examinations scheduled in one day, s/he has the right to reschedule one examination to an open date within the final examination period. Arrangements will be made through the Dean of Students or program Dean in consultation with the faculty members involved.

Department chairs are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the final examination policy.

Activities of the Course:

August

25
Introduction to the Course

I. Where do personal computers and the Internet come from and how do they work?

27

The Personal Computer Revolution I
Cringely, Chapters 2 and 3
The transistor: The most important invention of the 20th century?
New kinds of transistors

Origins of PC

31

The Personal Computer Revolution II
Cringely, Chapters 4 and 5
Solid State Disk Drives

Operating Systems
Snow Leopard vs Windows 7

September

1

The Personal Computer Revolution III
Cringely, Chapters 6 and 7
The Making of the Mac

What Macs did Right and Wrong
Acer

3

The Personal Computer Revolution IV
Cringely, Chapters 8 and 9
Less is Moore
Most important Microprocessors of All Time

8

The Personal Computer Revolution V
Cringely, Chapters 10 and 17
The Rise of Artificial Intelligence

10

Origins of the Internet and World Wide Web
Origins of the Internet

Packet switching
Wall Street Journal, "Tied Together: Ways to Create Home Networks"
Writing the Web's Future in Numerous Languages
Imagining e-commerce on the "internet" in 1969
1991 Compuserv Ad
The Internet in 1993

Birth of the World Wide Web

15

Discussion day


17

First Exam

II. Technology and Business


22

The Global Technology and Business Revolution

Events
Dotcom era
What happens during radical technology shifts high market instability
Walmart and Technology

24

Transforming Business through IT - MIT Video

29

New media: Books,Music and Newspapers

Among the Audience
The Power of Us
Steve Johnson "Old Growth Media And The Future Of News"

Electronic Books
The Digital Book
E-Books

E-Book Web Site

The Rise and Fall of the Music Industry

Experts versus Amateurs

Newspapers versus Online Media

Using Video games to promote reading

1981 report on receiving the newspaper on your "home" computer

New York Times and Digital Media

Pew State of the News Media

GlobalPost.com A global news for profit site


Required Blog: Newspapers - Orlando Sentinel Online vs. print due on October 2 @ 5 pm
Blog on newspapers
1. Compare the look and feel of the physical newspaper and the online version for the same day.
2. Are the online and physical versions directed toward the same audiences with the same demographics?
3. How would you change the content and/or the look and feel of the online version to bring in more eyeballs?

October

III. Web 2.0

6
Overview

8 Business Technology Trends to Watch
Web 2.0: Profiting from the Threat
Web 2.0 Has Corporate America Spinning
What is Web 2.0?

McKinsey, "Building the Web 2.0 Enterprise"
McKinsey, "Making 2.0 Work for Business"
http://mashable.com/
Notes

15

Blogs, Wikis and RSS

Web of Influence
Technorati.com
"The Accidental Innovator"
Twitter for Business

RSS in Plain English
Fine-Tuning Your Filter for Online Information
The Future of RSS

20 and 22

Google

Nicholas Carr, "The Google Enigma"
"Google in Search of Itself"
Google Apps
Google Latitude
Chrome

http://www.google.com/corporate/execs.html
http://www.checkoutapp.com/
Interview on Internet and business change

notes

27

You Tube and Podcasting

The Movies Meet Net 2.0
Google Aims to Make You Tube Profitable With Ads
You Tube Business Model
The YouTube Presidency
Hulu


Notes

29

Second Exam

November

3

Social Networking My Space, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter
Online Social Networks Business Model

Facebook and Social Networking Business
As Facebook takes off, MySpace strikes back
Facebook Grows Up
Social Networking Sites: Myspace
Profiting from Social Networking
Facebook vs. Linkedin: Which is better for business?
Business version of social network software
Twitter
Using Twitter and Facebook in Business

5

Second Life
A House That's Just Unreal: Second Life

Virtual Worlds, Virtual Economies, Virtual Institutions
Even in a Virtual World, "Stuff" Matters
Understanding Human Behavior in Virtual Worlds

Using Second Life in business and education
Virtual Life
IBM and 2nd Life
More IBM and 2nd Life

Manpower

Large scale immersive environments

10

The semantic web
Helping Computers to Search With Nuance, Like Us


notes

V. Wireless

12

The Wireless Revolution
Motorola Breakup

Internet Telephony Coming in Clear
The Top 10 Wireless Trends for 2008
The iPhone
How Technology Works
The iPhone Gold Rush
IPhone Apps to Organize Your Life

Looking Inside Smart Phones

Qualcom and CDMA MIT Lecture

Alan Kupetz, Wireless Presentation

VI. Cloud Computing

17

What Cloud Computing Really Means
Why Cloud Computing is Gaining Strength

19

Third Exam

December

VII. Technology and Problem Solving

1

Technology and Energy

Renewable Energy: What's So Bad About Big?

New Technology and Sustainable Energy

Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities for Business and Society

Plan B for Energy: 8 Revolutionary Energy Sources

Scientific American: A Guide to Carbon Capture and Storage

3

Smart Grid

Google and Smart Grid
Smart Savings
Smart Grid News
What is a Smart Grid?

7

Final Exam
2 - 4 pm

VII. Innovation, Creativity and Competitiveness

The Economist, Special report on Innovation, October 13, 2007.
Distributed CoCreation
Henry Chesbrough, Open Innovation

Examples of Innovation?

The Top 30 Innovations of the past 30 years
The Evolving Web
Computer in Clothes
My Life in a Video Game (Batteries Not Included)
notes

IT and New Business Opportunities

Disruptive Innovation in Healthcare, Clayton Christensen

Environmental sustainability at General Motors