Internet Auctions

    The site I choose to write about is ebay. I choose to do this site because my mom uses it all the time. She sells items such as antique jewelry, pottery and much more. In order to sell items on ebay you need to set up an account. It wouldn't be a bad idea to set up a pay-pay account because it is easier to receive payments that way. The user must be at least 18 years of age to use ebay. Once you register there is a link that allows you to either begin buying or begin selling; or you could just look at the details of ebay and if you have questions then you can contact ebay to ask them.

    If you begin looking for an item to buy and you find one that you are interested in then you either put a bid on it or if it has the option select BuyItNow. Once you purchase an item, with a credit card, check or pay-pal account, you give the seller your address information and you pay them. After they receive payment then they send you what you purchased. After you receive your item you can go and comment on the seller like whether or not they shipped you item fast enough, was the item in the condition they said it was in or were they easy to work with. Each seller has a rating, the better the rating the more chances someone will buy from you.

If you sell an item on ebay then you have to list it. When listing an item you have to take pictures of it, weigh it, give a description of it and tell around how much shipping will cost. Once the auction is over and you receive payment for the item you sold, you have to ship it. When shipping an item, if breakable, make sure the item is securely packaged so it doesn't break.

I know that the experiences my mom has had on ebay haven't been bad at all. However once she sold an item for a neighbor and they accused her of stealing the item even though she showed them proof of sale and gave them the money for the item; she even sold the item for free for them. Most of the time if she puts an item on ebay for someone else she charges them 10% of whatever they make. I don't think that ebay is bad but you have to watch out and be careful of the kind of information that you put on ebay.

Peer-to-Peer Networks

Honestly I don't know all that much about peer-to-peer networks (P2P). When I started researching exactly what a P2P network was I found out that I actually knew more them then I thought. A P2P network is when a central server isn't used to connect the computers; instead all of the computers on the network work at the same level and users have direct access to the other computers and the peripherals attached to the network. Most of the time P2P's are connected with a wireless router.

There are two types of P2P's one is a home network and the other is an internet network. With a home P2P network one could have a wireless router or just have the computers in the house connected to the same server. Home P2P's are used to share files, listen to music and even print pages without being connected to the printer. With an internet P2P network one has to have an internet connection because it is performed on the internet. Internet P2P's are used to exchange information to people but the most common use for internet P2P is sharing music files online. Not all P2P's are used legally because when using a P2P to download music illegally one can get into serious trouble. The reason that it is illegal to download music sometimes is because the music is copyrighted and since it is copyrighted then unless otherwise stated one has to pay for the music. I personally haven't used a P2P to download music. Many people like me agree with the punishment that the government imposes on violators of a P2P network. When someone purposely puts copyrighted music on the web without charging a fee for it then they need to be punished; it wasn't free to make the music so why should it be free to own a copy of that music? The University of Delaware says that if a student is caught using illegal P2P sharing or if they(meaning UD) are notified then they will be turned in to the police for legal action. I think that everyone should watch out and they need to realize what they are using and if is illegal then they need to quit using it.

Why I prefer Microsoft Word over Google Docs!

    Google Docs is very similar to Microsoft word in a couple of ways. Google Docs has the ability to change the font but it doesn't have as many choices as Microsoft word does. I like to have many font choices especially if I am writing a paper because when I stress a certain point I use a different font. Google Docs has the ability to do spell check like Microsoft word does. Google Docs' spell check is different than Microsoft Words spell check because in Microsoft word if you spell the word "the" wrong then it automatically changes it rather than letting you change when you are done.

    Google Docs has a feature where you can check the spelling of another language. In Microsoft word you have to change the language to check the spelling. Google Docs automatically saves your work for you; this is helpful because you don't have to worry about stopping to save your work, it automatically saves it. In Microsoft word you have to click the save button or control + save. Microsoft word offers clip art and word art and Google Docs doesn't offer it; I like this feature especially if I am working on a poster and I want to change the style of the heading.

    Google Docs has its' advantages and disadvantages. The one advantage that Google Docs has is that it automatically saves your work for you. Another advantage is it that it allows you to view your documents everywhere you go. Google Docs also offers language spell check without having to change the language; this is good because if you are typing a paper and you are quoting something from another language you don't have to change the language to check the spelling. One disadvantage to using Google Docs is that in order to access your documents you have to have an internet connection whether it is by computer or on a cell phone. For me the biggest disadvantage is the font; I don't like to be limited in the types of fonts that I can use.

    I personally prefer to use Microsoft word because I am used to the program and I like the program. I like the fonts that are available. I like the features that it offers such as different word art and clip art. These are just a few things that I like about Microsoft word.

Online Storage

    When I started looking for a website for storage I chose Mozypro. Mozypro is an EMC Company. Mozypro provides the service of backing up files on your computer through the web for either home use or business use.

Mozypro offers three feature areas such as security, performance and easy use. The security feature supplies the consumer with a 128-bit SSL encryption, 448-bit Blowfish encryption, and private encryption key options and near continuous data protection. The 128-bit SSL encryption safely secures your data transport; the 448-bit Blowfish encryption safely secures your data on Mozy Inc.'s servers; the private encryption key options choose Mozy's own 448-bit key or manage your own private key to encrypt your data and the near continuous data protection automatically detects and backs up new and changed files every 2 hours. The performance feature provides automatic or scheduled backup, block level incremental backups which saves the bandwidth and ensures future backups are lightning fast, and bandwidth throttling which allows you to tell Mozypro to upload bandwidth so other higher priority services can run unimpeded. The easy use service allows version support which gives you the option of restoring multiple file versions up to 30 days in the past, network drive support which gives you the ability to back up networked or mapped drives and Windows server support which allows windows to be backed up.\

With every storage site there are pros and cons. The pros of Mozypro allow one to store files and there is around the clock tech service; one can even chat online to a tech person if they needed to. A couple of cons dealing with Mozypro are the cost because for desktop licenses it is $3.95 + $0.50/GB per month and server licenses is $6.95 + $1.75/GB per month. One can be billed monthly, annually or biennially. I think you can only use Mozypro for windows and not any other program. I would use this as a backup for my computer because I am always on the internet and if a virus were to crash my computer I would be able to locate any lost or locked files.

Using a New Search Engine

For using a new search engine I chose to use yahoo. When I normally conduct a search on the internet I use Google because it is the easiest search engine for me to use. When using Google I get plenty of useful hits for whatever search I am doing. When I used yahoo do conduct a search I found that it gave me a lot of hits just like Google would.

When I searched yahoo, I searched the topic of puppy mills because that is what my scavenger hunt is about. When I searched yahoo I typed in puppy mills and I got 4,240,000 hits. The first hit was stoppuppymills.org which is a good site because it is an organizational site. Many, almost all organizational sites are fairly for the most part good sites. Six out of the first 10 hits were organizational sites therefore this proves that yahoo has just as good of a search engine as Google does.

To get more hits or better hits I probably could’ve typed in “information about puppy mills” or “the truth about puppy mills”. When I typed in “information about puppy mills” six out of the first ten hits were organizational sites; I got 2,220,000 hits. When I typed in “the truth about puppy mills” there was one organizational site and one educational site out of the first ten hits; I got 1,240,000 hits with these words.

About Me

My name is Katie Phillips. I am nineteen years old and currently attending the University of Delaware, Associate of Arts Program. My major is undecided because I have many interests. I love my family, friends and life. I live with my mom, step-dad and two little sisters; my real dad is in South Carolina with my brother who is 32. I am originally from South Carolina and may one day return there. I believe that one should make the best out of each day because who know when your last day is coming. My favorite quote is “True love is like the North Star, it’s always there.”