Week 14: CLEAR: RAID

This week something that was very clear to me was RAID. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. Its main purpose is to treat multiple drives as if they were one. The various designs of RAID involve two main goals. The first goal is to increase data reliability. The second goal is to increase input/output performance.

RAID increases Capacity, Speed and Reliability.

for more info check out:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/levels/singleLevel0-c.html

Until Next Time,
Zack

Week 13: CLEAR: Viruses, Trojans and Worms

Something clear to me this week was the differences between Viruses, Trojans and Worms. While they are all bad for your computer, they are a little bit different in their actual functions.

Viruses are small programs that are written in order to alter the way a computer operates. They must run without the permission or knowledge of the user. All Viruses execute themselves and replicate themselves. Some types of viruses are File infector viruses, boot sector viruses, master boot record viruses, multipartite viruses and macro viruses.

Trojans are impostors that claim to be something desirable but, in fact, are malicious in nature. An important distinction between Trojan horse programs and viruses is that they do not replicate themselves.

Worms are programs that replicate themselves between systems without using a host file. This is different than viruses, which require the spreading of an infected host file.

For more info check out:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2004/virus.asp

Until Next Time,
Zack

WEEK 12: CLEAR: Types of Networks

This week something that was very clear to me was the different types of Networks and how they are all different. In our lectures we discussed 4 types of computer networks that I will go into detail about. Those networks are PAN (Personal Are Network),LAN (Local Area Network), MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network).

Personal Area Network, or PAN, is a computer network used for communication among computer and different information technology devices close to one person. Some examples of Personal Area Networks are personal computers, telephones, printers and fax machines.

Local Area Network, or LAN, is a network that connects computers in a limited area such as home, office building, school or a close group of buildings. They are used for smaller geographic ranges than WAN.

Metropolitan Area Network, or MAN, is a large computer network that span an entire city or metropolitan area.

Wide Area Network, or WAN, is a computer network that covers a large very large geographic area such as a city or even a country. They use a communications channel that combines many types of media such as telephone lines or cables.


For more information visit: http://compnetworking.about.com/od/basicnetworkingconcepts/a/network_types.htm

Until Next Time,
Zack

Database Project

This database project was very difficult for me to get finished. I had to go back and watch all of the lectures plus all of the discussions just to begin to understand.

Even after finishing I still feel like I dont have a very good understanding of Microsoft access and how to make databases. I hope to continue gaining more and more knowledge on the subject because I can see that it can be very useful in a business.

Until Next Time,
Zack

EXTRA CREDIT: Build an AVATAR

I chose to build my avatar using Buildyourwildself.com. I thought that this was a very fun exercise because it was much different than any avatar creating sites I have seen. Instead of creating a realistic avatar that looks exactly like you, this site allows you to create an avatar that has ridiculous features like animal arms and legs.

I chose to incorporate a little of both side in my avatar. While i chose to make my head look thus like me with black spikey hair, pail skin, and normal looking eyes and mouth, I also chose to make my body completely ridiculous. Since I am a huge fan of the ocean and the water I chose to give my avatar ocean like features. With octopus arms and jelly fish legs, I believe my avatar shows what I would look like in an underwater land. I also chose to have him waering a t-shirt with a guitar on it. I did this because I love guitar and wanted to incorporate my musical side in my avatar. I also chose to put my avatar underwater because I love the water and the ocean.

I enjoyed this activity and believe I will make more avatars in the future no that I have seen how fun a cool this site is.

My avatar can be viewed at:

http://www.wix.com/zackyang/avatar


Until Next Time,
Zack



Below is a photo of my avatar for your viewing pleasure.

Week 11: Clear: What is a Systems Analyst

Something that was very clear to me this week was the job description for a system analyst. A systems analyst is a person who helps companies and organizations decided which computers and software they should buy and use. By planning a system from the ground up, systems analysts write technical instructions and interact with designers to understand software completely.

Whenever a development process is conducted, the system analyst is responsible for designing components and providing that information to the developer. The systems analysts are the liaisons between vendors and IT professionals.

As far as pay, the average salary for a systems analyst in 2008 was $78,830 and they are usually required to work very long hours.

For more information read the article at: http://www.bls.gov/k12/computers06.htm

Until Next Week,
Zack

WEEK10 CLEAR: Data vs. Information

Something that was very clear to me in this week lectures was the difference between Data and Information. While many people may think that they are the same thing, they are actually very different.

Data is raw materials and unorganized facts that have yet to be organized. In order for data to become information, it must be processed and organized. Information is when data is processed, organized and structured so that it is useful. Data can be in the form of numbers, letter, pictures and symbols. Once these data are structured into a way that they are meaningful, it becomes information.

To put it short, Data in a meaningful form is information

http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-data-and-information/

Until Next Week,
Zack

Web 2.0 Presentation

My Web 2.0 presentation can be viewed at:

http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/227187/Shinnies,-Inc.

Self-Critique:

Is there a logical flow and sequence of content? How could it be improved?
- Yes I think that I had a very logical flow of content. I began by stating a problem and followed up with my solution for the problem.

Does the presenter anticipate questions and answer them in the right place? At what points did you have questions that were not answered?
-Yes. I started out the presentation by explaining a problem that is commonly experience by most snow skiers. I then followed these questions with my new solution of Shinnies.

Did the presenter grab your attention in the first 30-60 seconds?
-I think I did a good job of grabbing attention early on by explaining the background story of how the idea came about. I think that if I would have used more sounds that it might be even better.

Did the presenter ask questions and spark your curiosity?
-I think that anyone that is at all interested in the snow skiing industry will be very curious to read my presentation. Also anyone interested in business and entrepreneurial ideas.

Did the presenter set the context with a concise explanation? Is it clear what the presenter is trying to share?
-Yes the context was set very early on and all questions were answered. It is very clear what the presentation is about.

Did the presenter validate any claims?
-The only claims made are that there is indeed a problem called ShinBang and that shinnies will help to ease this pain. The only way to truly validate these claims are to try a pair of shinnies for yourself.

Did the presenter avoid inconsistencies and errors, typos and unbelievable claims?
-Yes I believe I avoided inconsistencies and typos.

How well did the presenter avoid clutter?
-By only using important pictures and not unnecessary ones, i definitely avoided clutter. The presentation is very readable and not cluttered at all.

What did the presenter do to ensure readability?
-By using simple fonts and good font sizes I ensured the readability of my presentation.

Did the presenter say it, and then show it or did he/she read the slides?
-I think that I said it, then showed it. By stating the problem at the beginning and following it with the solution i have created, I effectively showed what I wanted to show.

After doing this project I realize how important web 2.0 presentations can be in the business world. Especially now that technology and the web are becoming so important in the business world, this is a tool I see myself using for a long time to come. I can now post presentations online and get feedback from lots of people and that is a great tool when starting your own business.

By critiquing a fellow classmates project I learned that there is more than one right way to do things. The classmates project I looked at was very different than mine but was also very well put together.

I now understand more than ever how important web 2.0 presentations can be and how useful they can be to starting and managing your own business.

Until next time,
Zack

WEEK 9: CLEAR: What is a URL?

In these times where technology is increasing at an exponential rate, one of the most important things in our society is the internet. There are many different parts to the internet but a part that is very clear to me is a URL. Im sure there are many people who do not fully understand what a URL is so I will explain it in detail.

A URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is he unique address that is given to a website. No two websites can have the same URL. A URL is made up of four parts. These parts are the protocol, the domain name, the path and he file name.

The protocol tells the web browser what sort of server it will talk to to fetch the URL. An example of the protocol is http. The domain name identifies he website containing the page. In terms of this blog website the domain name would be www.blogger.com. Next, the path is what identifies where a page is located within a certain website. Last is the file name which specifies the specific file that is being viewed on the page. It will look something like index.asp.

I hope this gives everyone a better understanding of what a URL is and what the different parts are that go into it.

http://www.boutell.com/newfaq/definitions/url.html

Until next time,
Zack

Week 7: CLEAR: Effective Layouts

This week something that was very clear to me was what types of things should be avoided in order to make an effective web layout. A good layout must be readable, not cluttered and effectively use fonts, colors and themes.

Some things you want to avoid when making a lay out are pictures that are to small. Small pictures are hard to see and are very ineffective. You also want to give a lot of thought into your placement of pictures and words on the page. The placement should look organized and not random. You also don't want to use images that have too much going on. The best layouts in my opinion are simple and organized. Another thing that should also be avoided are pixilated images and distorted images. These only make the layout look cheap and unprofessional.

http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/design/index.php3

Until Next Time,
Zack

Week 6: CLEAR: Raster vs. Vector Graphics

A topic that was very clear to me this week was the difference between Raster and Vector graphics. 


There are 2 main types of multimedia images. The first is Raster images. Raster images are composed of pixels and are more commonly referred to as bitmap images. Raster images use a grid of individual pixels. Each pixel can be different shades and colors. Raster images need higher resolutions and for a smooth appearance must use the anti-aliasing function. Raster images are best used for photographs.


Vector graphics, on the other hand, use mathematical relationships between points and the paths connecting them to describe an image. Where Raster images are composed of pixels, Vector images are composed of paths. Since Vector graphics are mathematically formed they will appear smooth at any size. This is one of the main differences between Raster and Vector Graphics. 


Basically, you should use Raster graphics for photos with complex shading and use Vector graphics for all type, line art and illustrations.


Below is a basic showing a Vector versus a Raster graphic:

http://designwashere.com/design-battle-vector-vs-raster/




Until Next Time,
Zack

Excel Project

I found this project to be very difficult and confusing. After watching the lectures I felt that I would be able to easily complete the tasks in the Excel project. However, after starting I realized that the most beneficial tool for me was the scavenger hunt assignment. This is where I was able to find most of the formulas needed to complete the project.

The first columns that we had to make including MaxHR, TgtHR, Highest HR, Tgt Achieved and PctIncreaseHR didn't give me to many problems. I was able to find the correct formulas for these through the Excel scavenger hunt. Out of these columns, I thought the most difficult to fully understand was the logic formulas needed to get the "Yes" or "No" answers for the "Tgt Achieved" column. Now that I have done this project I feel I have a much better understanding of logic function formulas and how they work.

The most difficult part of this project for me was the pivot tables. I think part of my difficulty with the pivot tables came from the fact that I was using a Mac instead of a PC. I think the Windows Powerpoint for PC's is much easier to operate than it is on Macs. I spent a good 30 minutes trying to find how to even make a pivot table. Once I searched "Pivot Table" in the search bar I was able to find the function and figure it out. This project taught me many things including how to use formulas to get useful data, how to use pivot tables and how to properly scale the print page setup so that all of the columns will be on the same page.

Until Next Time,
Zack

Week 5: Clear: Columns VS. Rows

Since the first time I ever learned about Excel spreadsheets, a topic that has been very clear and understandable to me is the difference between columns and rows and the functions of each. This is something that confuses a lot of people so I think its a good subject to clarify for people.

When someone first opens an Excel spreadsheet, they see a grid of rows and columns. On the left side of the spreadsheet, in the gray boxes, you will see numbers starting with 1 and going up. These numbers represent the ROWS. Each row goes across the screen. Columns, on the other hand are at the top of the grid. The columns are labeled with letters A-Z and they represent the different columns going down.

Basically, Rows go ACROSS and are labeled with numbers and Columns go DOWN and are labeled with letters. The intersection of a row and a column is called a  CELL. A cell is named starting with the Column letter and followed by the row number. Therefore, the top left column of a spreadsheet would be labeled as Cell A1. The cell under this would be A2 and the cell to the right of it would be B1. Hopefully this clarifies the difference between Cells and Rows for everyone.

Until Next time,

Zack

WEEK 4: CLEAR: Horizontal Vs. Vertical Applications

This week something that was very clear to me was the difference between Horizontal and Vertical applications. While both are applications created to help people do specific things on the computer, they are different in the amount of people and industries they help.

Horizontal applications are software programs that are used across many different industries for many different people. Some good examples of these are applications like adobe photoshop and Microsoft word. Photoshop is used by people in many different industries for many different tasks. The same is true of Microsoft word.

On the other hand, Vertical applications are software programs that are designed to meet specific needs of one specific business marker. Some good examples of vertical applications are restaurant ordering systems. An application that is made for a specific restaurant will not work anywhere but in that specific restaurant. This is why it is a vertical application. Another example of this is GRU, gainesville's utility companies, software that checks meters and takes service requests. This application was created specifically for GRU.

Until Next Time,
Zack

Week 3: MUDDY: Cold VS. Hot Reboots

This section discussed a problem I have struggled with for years. Since the time I recieved my first computer I have always wondered what was the best way to turn it off. This section talked about cold boots versus hard boots. I have always thought that turning off your computer is turning off your computer. What is the difference whether you press the power button, hold the power button or press control, alt, delete.

I realize that each one of these ways causes the computer to turn off in a different way. Holding the power button makes it go off quickly and automatically, while pressing control, alt, delete does it in a slower way. When I am in a time crunch I always just go with the fast solution, but is this hurting my computer? What is the best way to turn your computer on and off without causing damage to the computer?

Also,  I used to have a PC and now I have a Mac. Does this change anything? Are there better ways of turning of a Mac versus turning off a PC? I am very interested to learn the correct ways to turn my computer on and off without causing damage.

Until next time,
Z

Week 2: MUDDY

One computer topic that has always been very confusing to me is the use of computer memory. It seems there are a million different names for computer memory related parts. With so many different names like RAM, ROM, DIMM, DDR2, DDR3 and Flash, how can anyone keep up with what it all means?

In my mind, memory is memory. Why are there so many different names and types of memory? I know that they all do different things but isnt there a way to make ONE STANDARD type of memory so that we can all just understand it easily?

Week 1: CLEAR

In these times of ever increasing technological advancements, it is more important than ever to make sure that information you are receiving over the internet is credible. The world wide web is growing larger and larger every day and while there is a lot of great information being put out there, there is an equal amount of false information being spread. In order to accurately evaluated the quality of information you are reading there are a series of things to look at.

The most important thing to examine is the author. Who are they? Why are they credible? There are no limitations on who can post things on the internet and who cant, and for this reason it is very important do determine the credibility of the author. If the person writing an article is an expert in the field, they will offer much better and more credible information than a person who is just writing for fun on the internet. Many people mistakenly believe that anything they read on the internet is truth and they do not realize how easy it is to put false information on the internet. Also, is the author providing evidence to back up their claims? Most of the time if someone has a lot of evidence, they are probably more credible than someone who is just saying something without any backing.

Another very important thing to look at is the location of the website. Is it a personal website, a government website or an educational website? Each of these offer very different types of information and they all have different levels of credibility. Depending on what kind of information you are searching for, the site location is extremely important when determining credibility.

Until next time,
Zack