The digital age has made great improvements to the way we work.  However, this was not always the case.  When companies first utilized computers, it made individual departments work better within themselves, but the programs within the company departments did not interface.  This slowed the individual departments because they had to wait for the paperwork to be physically shared before they can continue working.  This caused a need for programs to be written in a way that they could understand each other.  For this to happen a set of standards were created so all programs would read and write information in a form that they could all understand. These standards created workflow software, a program that enabled a project or design started in one department to be continued in another until a finished product was sold whether they were in the same building or on the other side of the world. I currently work in the Air Force and we use a program called share point and Combat Ammunition System (CAS).  Both allow us to share everything we do with every other base.  Share point is a simple database to track who is at work, out sick, etc. as well as the status of equipment, no matter where it may be.  Then CAS is another program that tracks our munitions and create shipments, requests, and inventories world wide in real time.  These work flow programs created something that also helped the digital age.  The standard that allowed programs to share and manipulate the same information, also allowed a community to create something together.  This open forum created new programs were the code itself is shared for all to see. This community of programmers comes together to create something that is better than what is out there already.  The main example of this that I knew reading the textbook was Linux.  I think the idea of a free OS is great and I currently run Linux on my desktop plus I am a little bias and not a fan of Windows.  Every time I see a “new” feature to their OS most of the time, it’s a copy from Linux. Why you may ask, the open source allows user/programmer to see something that they think would improve the system and make it easier for all.  With the code available, the new lines of code for the improvement can be written in and then uploaded for all as soon as its done. Instead of having, to submit a comment to the company and waiting for them create “new” features into the next version and charge for it.  Open source allows for constant upgrades without the need to create enough add-ons to be worth it for the consumer to purchase. The same thing goes for my iPhone, I jail broke (unlocked) it to be able to access other market besides the one apple approves of.  I noticed the community came out with new features that made to phone better and simpler to use then months later an update would come out and have a lot of the same features built into it.  While the updates were free, they would not happen as fast as the community would. 

The world of outsourcing has changed they way products are sold. It allows companies to have factories in other countries where cost of living is cheaper allowing for lower wages.  Lower turns into lower cost of production allowing for lower final cost to the consumer or bigger profit for the company if savings are not trickled to the consumer.  The book shows how an accountant in India is paid about $100 US a month to do American taxes.  So a company such as HR block could collect all your info and email it, then have the taxes done over night with the time change.  So the person collecting your info is paid a small amount compared to an accountant in US to collect your W-2s and email them to someone around the world who processes them and sends it back. This person is paid a fair wage for their countries standards, but it is even less than the person that collects the info. Creating the one thing every business owner wants high profit margins.  Another example of this would be small hospitals that cannot afford to have a radiology specialist doctor on every shift.  They can out source the consult with the nightingale company.  Allowing a small hospital to email the MRI, cat scans or any other images to a doctor on the other side of the world to look at it and give the general physician a consult based on an image that was emailed to them without ever needing to see the patients themselves.