Week 14: Clear

Some of the information I read this week was way out of my realm of knowledge. I do remember, however, most of the stuff about RAID storage because of a previous lesson in this class. I did find DaaS pretty interesting however. Above is a slide from a powerpoint online I found that sort of breaks down more information about this topic.

According to the lectures, DaaS stands for "Desktop as a Service." It's described as desktops in the clouds and is a pay-as-you-go service. It's described as provision using policies and it changes from capital expenditures to operating expenditures.

Below is a link to a great article from Entrepenuer.com about DaaS being the new gold mine. It may be the best option for start-up-types and and for those just starting a business. I really enjoyed this article.

Link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/article204498.html

Secure E-mail Project

It was truly an experience using Thunderbird for this project. I have never even heard of it before. One thing I do know, it makes my computer run super slow! Aside from that it is a pretty cool application.

Link: http://news.cnet.com/Secure-wireless-e-mail-promised-for-office/2100-1033_3-893756.html?tag=mncol;8n

This article was from CNET.com. This article talks about Sprint, Sprint PCS and Cingular all getting mobile, wireless secure e-mail apps or features for their phones. It is amazing how fast technology is changing and instead of reading about new secure e-mail programs online, we are reading about them being installed on wireless devices.

Sprint is also debuting a secure more like "text messaging" system where IT persons at a company can download the program at the computer and you can send e-mails and text messages simultaneiously.

I think with the way corporate America is going wireless, this is defintely needed.

I never knew how to encrypt an e-mail or what that even meant until this project. It was really interesting to even sign up with VeriSign because I had no idea what any of that even was. Very information and meaningful project!

Week 13: Clear

I found this weeks information more relatable then ever. I mean, everyone knows someone, or themselves, who has or had a virus on their computer. Recently, my friends entire computer shut down with a virus related to Lime Wire. I think it is all about taking care of your computer and making sure you have virus and other protection to increase it's lifespan.

The book talks about, on pages 556 and 557 about computer secruity risks. Here are some of what they talked about as well as what Professor Mearns talked about in her lecture. By the way, the interview with the UF department for computer secruity risks was very informative!

• Hacker: someone who gets access to a computer, illegally.
• Cracker: Acesses a computer illegally, much like a hacker, but with the intent to destroy data
• Script kiddie: Seems like a cracker, but does not really have the skills to perform those tasks
• Cyberextortionist: Uses e-mail as a way to extort
• Cyberterrorist: Uses the internet to destroy computer related to political reasons.

Hacking is some scary business, especially how you hear in the news about big businesses computers and networks getting hacked- because you'd think they would have enough security for that NOT to happen. Last week, I got a letter from University of North Florida, saying because I had applied there in 2006 and my personal information was in their system, a hacker had recently stolen files and mine could have been one of them. I had to call the crecit reporting bureaus and put a fraud alert on my credit report.

Below is a really great video I found on YouTube that talks more about viruses and hackers that has great narration and pictures. It helped add to this weeks lesson:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxRcJtpjYQY



Week 12: Clear

This weeks information was more of a refresher for me. I took a class Fall 2009 that went into nodes, TCPIP and nodes. Even though I am not a business or computer major, I found this information somewhat interesting. Computer technology is changing every minute, so who knows? Maybe all of this information in the power points will be obsolete in months? Years maybe?

• A PAN, or Personal Area Network, is a network that people have inside of their homes. According to the power point, it generally reaches around 10-30 feet and is the smallest of the networks that we talked about.

• A LAN, or Local Area Network, is a network that could span one building or several buildings clumped together. This may span nearly one mile.

• A MAN, or Metropolitan Area Network, is a network that spans roughly 50 miles and could include a town, or perhaps a university that needs the network for research.

• Finally, a WAN, or Wide Area Network, is a network that spans statewide or globally. An example of this is the internet itself.

I have a Wireless Router in my apartment, which inside my apartment I get perfect interset signal. However, the moment I step onto my porch, the signal strength goes down. According to the lecture, this could be due to the amount of obstructions inbetween the computer and the source of the signal. Also, because I do not have my network protected with a password, sometimes I cannot get on the internet, or my connection is slow because someone living next to me or above me is using my internet connection.

I used this video below to supplement some of the tougher material in this weeks information. I hope you find it useful, too.

Computer Networks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVvEheZVwdg

Extra Credit: Avatar

This avatar project was pretty fun. I chose a website where I did not have to sign up and give my e-mail. I chose the NY Zoo and Aquarium one because it is related to the Wildlife Conservation and I really care about animals. This was the first time I have ever created an avatar. I started making mine with real human characteristics, then I switched to making more of animal characteristics. I like how the different animal parts made different noises as you made them. Then lastly you can change the background you want your half animal/half person to be in! I really enjoyed this extra credit!

Access Database Project

I'd say after watching the video lectures online, it was not too bad doing this project. I guess I was a little nervous after the readings online said this project would be harder than the excel project. I learned actually a lot from the project- I really like the Report Wizard part the most. It is nice, thinking about it, after you make the forms and queries, putting it into one report and being done with it. The steps I found challenging, but I worked through them easily. I'm glad I got to download this program and do this project- it may be very certain I will use this during an internship or a job.

One item of functionality is importing one file at a time, or many files. For instance, if we wanted to just import one file on one certain person, we could do that- we would not have to import the entire file list containing all 1000 people. This would be good for use in a doctors or dentists office- for they have tons of patients and it would be time consuming if they had to import all of their patients name at one time, or just selecting one to import. Perhaps this would be useful when making the schedule for appointment or the list of patients for the next day.

I really enjoyed this project-I can't believe it is the second to the last project left for this semester. Can't wait to see what the Secure E-mail project is all about!

Week 11: Clear

I really enjoyed this weeks lesson on a topic I was a little foggy on. However, I was suprised when we went over Microsoft Project! I knew about the program, and was under the impression not a lot of other people did. I used it for one of my intenships over the summer. With my major being Public Relations and us using Gantt charts a lot, I found this program very useful!

The book, on page 623 talks about Project Management Software. It's software a project manager can use to assist them in things like planning and implementating, and making sure all parts of the project were divided up and among whom. The book talks about Gantt charts and PERT charts, both of which I have learned about in my PR classes.

A Gantt chart is abar chart that uses horizontal bars to show the project phases or activities. It is pictured above and was invented by Henry L. Gantt.

A PERT chart, pictured above, is a chart that analyzes the time requried to complete a task and the minimum time required to do so. It was developed by the US Department of Defense.

Either of these charts would be useful. During my internship, I used Microsoft Project to assign tasks to other interns who were Freshman. It gave due dates and short project descriptions for each. I found it very helpful.

Below is a link to a video to help you use Microsoft Project. When I first started using it, I found it very difficult to understand and manevuer until I finally got the hang of it! Hope this helps.

Microsoft Project help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2tQLHD1cRk



Week 10: Clear

This week's lesson about Databases really amazed me, half because I knew the programs were out there to use to make them, but never knew what the name of those programs were or how they worked. The power point lectures served as a really great tool on how to get the basics down on how to use Access. Although the questions on the scavenger hunt were a bit tricky, I was able to find them and I hope that "cheat sheet" scavenger hunt paper will help me for the project! I'm a bit nervous- he said this would be the HARDEST one?! I thought the Excel one was pretty tricky.

One topic of databases that are pretty interesting are Fields. A field is a combination of one or more related characters or bytes and according to the textbook on page 518 Chapter 10, is the smallest unit of data a user accesses.

The field size often determines that maximum number of characters a field can contain. There are different types of data that can go into fields. Below is a little list I compiled using some examples from the book:

• Text: This would be letters, numbers or certain special characters
• Numeric: This would be numbers only
• Date: This would include month, day and year, and sometimes time
• Memo: This category would be long text entries
• Yes/No: Only values that are True or False
• Hyperlink: This would be an e-mail address or a web address
• Object: This could be audio, video, photo or a document like a spreadsheet
• Attachment: This would be a document or image that is attached to the field

One of this biggest fields I was having trouble understanding is the "Date/Time" field. I tried to play around with it a little in Acess myself, but still felt like I was not grasping the entire concept. I read up on it in the book, and then came across this video on eHow.com that talks a little bit more about it. Below is the link to the public video:

http://www.ehow.com/video_4983380_create-datetime-microsoft-access-field.html

Presentation and Web 2.0 Project


Here is a link to my Web 2.0 Presentation:
http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/226533/Haven-Hospice--Ashley-Horn
This project was by no means easy to me. Even though I am pretty comfortable with PowerPoint, I had never added the narration to the slides before. I must admit, the end result was pretty cool and made me look at web presentations in a whole new way. I have, however, had experience with placing a YouTube video into a PowerPoint presentation before. So that was easy.

Here is an evaluation of mine, according to the rubric.

I think there is a logical flow and sequence. I think I helped this by using "10 reasons YOU should donate." It helps keeps the listeners on a path to the end of my presentation: Excellent. I'm not sure I do a good job at anticipating questions, mainly because I am dishing out information on different levels, but I feel like I hit the main points well enough not to keep the auidence guessing: Meets the Minimum. I think I grab my auidnces attention, with the text style and pictures, and with the "10 reasons" heading- it keeps the listeners wondering what will be next: Excellent. I do believe I spark curiosity, with the Even pictures for one, as that is #1 on the presentation. Who does not like a good, fun event? I used that as the first point to spark questions: Excellent. I think it is clear what I am trying to present, however, beyond my control, I am curretly sick and my voice is going in and out during the presenation. It's hard to share a good presentation with poo voice narration: Meets the Minimum. I think I do a good job validating claims: Exellent. I do not believe my presentation has any unbelieveable claims or typos: Excellent. I avoid clutter, however, I could have worked on the use of white space, I just did not want to overwhelm my viewers, especially since this is to get donations: Meets the Minimum. I do think my presentation ensures readability, mainly because I did not overwhelm my slides with text: Excellent. Also, because I do not have a lot of text to just read, I think I did say and show and not read directly off the slides: Excellent.

I learned some thing critiquing someone else's project. First, it's not easy to make your own Web 2.0 presentation, so it was even harded to grade someone else's. I liked watching the other porjects, though, so it almost made evaluating them fun. Critiquing others made you really look at the content, even down to the text to check for typo's, and it made me look more thourough into mine to check for these errors.

I will definitely use this in the business envirnoment again, especially in my next internship or first job if it calls for it. I learned a lot, especially as mentioned adding the vocie narration to my PowerPoint; it was almost kind of fun to hear my voice directing the presentation. I learned that Web 2.0 presentations are effective and even fun to watch. Also, getting the copyright information was no big deal, so it made the project fun. My organization was willing to let me use photos and one video, so it made the project go by more swift.

Week 9: Clear



This week, I learned a lot more that I did not know about search engines. I think I have this automatic habit of just ALWAYS using Google, for everything. I really like the textbook information on search engines because it puts things into a more clear view.

This part of the text can be found on page 85 of the (new) textbook.

Search engines can be really helpful when locating things on the web, especially when you don't know the exact web address or you are just looking for new information. Some search engines, like Google, can narrow down your search to just images, videos, audio, news, maps and the newest one, blogs. I use Google Maps at least once a week for different ideas for travel or even for local Gainesville road searches.

There are thousands of search engines, as mentioned in the book, and with the extensive list they give on page 85, I had never even heard of a lot of these. One that rings in my head, one of the newer ones, is "Bing". I can remember the commercials- "Search one and done."

Some search engines even have search bars you can download to add to your current Internet Explorer or Mozilla or the like. Below is an example of one of those.



I currently do not have any added download bars on my Internet Explorer page, probably because I am so addicted to Google, and I like going to the page and seeing the change of the "Google" logo every now and then, changed with popular culture.

Here are some in the book that I tried out, because I had never heard of them before, and I happen to like them!

• http://www.dogpile.com/
• http://www.webcrawler.com/
• http://www.excite.com/

This website I found is called, "Search Engine Showdown." It is a HUGE graph with all the search engines listed, and everything they do for the user. I found it very interesting. It was like a continuation from what was in the book. The web site I have listed below:

http://www.searchengineshowdown.com/features/

Hope this helps!

Week 7: Clear

Aw, Presentations. I know this part very well from my major, Public Relations. We are taught from day one how to give a successful presentation. I really liked the part of Week 7 lessons under, "Design and Layout." There is one major thing, though, that I continue to see every time one of my fellow peers in the PR division give a presentation: TOO MUCH TEXT. I know we are told never to do this. Here are a few points thart go along with this I would like to share with you:

• Only put your main ideas on a slide, not an entire paragraph
• The example above is a BAD example of what you should NOT do
• Also, be aware of color contrast when putting text onto a PowerPoint slide

The Week 7 Lesson, Design and Layout, had some great tips on how to use images correctly during a presentation in the business envirnoment. They are as follows:

• Avoid images that are too small, distorted, pixelated and images that look accidental
• Avoid Clip Art
•  Avoid images where there is just too much going on (this reminds me of a slide with lots of text)

Other helpful points from this section of the lesson:

• Think communication and NOT decoration. So only use visuals that will really help to explain the point you are trying to make, not just decorate the slide.
• Not all empty space should be filled in on a presentation slide or area. This is where some might tend to add extra text and uneeded photos. Sometimes the extra space is okay.
• Remember this presentation is not all about you, it is about your auidence. So try to put yourself in their shoes.

Below is a great video from YouTube illustrating how to make a great PowerPoint presentation. I know all business presentations will not be in PowerPoint form, but it is technologically available at most business offices and on most computers available. And, there is lots you can do with them to make them original and cater to your company's needs. After watching "Part 1", you can move on to "Part 2" as well where they go into a little more depth.

Web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvCPclvusAs

Enjoy!

Excel Project



This project defintely tested all of my nerves and my patients. I am glad it is finally done though! Excel has always been a little bit of a pain to me, but I must admit, I did learn a lot! And the most I learned was about the formulas. I see how easy they can be to use. Sometimes when you hear "formulas in Excel", people can get freightened. But, after this project I see them in a nicer light.  As long as you give yourself time, and you grasp the basic concept of the formula set up, you should be fine.

I also learned a lot about Pivot Tables. They can really come in handy when you want to analyze data. The pivot tables in this project were defintely easy to do with the instructions provided. It made looking at the given data easier to understand, and these are real time questions that our bosses may ask, and now we have the tools to do it for them. I really felt like I learned something when it came to the Pivot Tables. It can look at anaylzing data in a whole different way.

Between the scavenger hunt and the Excel project, I felt like I learned how to do a lot in Excel. From centering text in cells or modifying the text within them, to using formulas to maniuplate data, and finally using the pivot tables. I know at my summer internship I used a lot of Excel, but never to these dimensions as far as formulas and pivot tables. It seems to me, though, that there are more features even beyond these learned here that are offered on Excel. I think this was a good introductory lesson on Excel.



Week 6: Clear

I really enjoy Week 6's material. I feel like it applied a lot to me and to some new things I needed to get a better grasp one. I wanted to focus my post this week on 3 input/output devices used to get images. Because I use all three of these, as well as own all 3 of these, I thought it would be neat to do a clear post on it.

When using a scanner, professor states from the video that we need to be aware of copyright when using someone else's photographs. I recently ran into this problem myself. I was at Wal-Mart scanning some enagement pictures of mine that I had just gotten recently taken by a local professional. A photo clerk at Wal-Mart stopped me, and of course, I had the typed up verification from my photographer that it was OK for me to use those photos and scan them. Otherwise, like according to the lecture, it would have been copyright.

All three of these devices can be used to get excellent quality pictures. I love my digital camera and take it just abut everywhere with me. It is easy to dock to my laptop to see my pictures as well. I use my web cam to Skype with relatives that do not live in Florida. Sometimes, I will use my web cam to take a picture. Although it is a little hard to center yourself just right, it still works just fine, especially when no on is around to take a picture of you, for you, with your digital camera.




Relating back to the web cam, at first I was not sure exactly how to take pictures with the cam. I thought it may be easy, but, I was wrong. I was able to find a helpful YouTube video that gave me a short tutorial on how-to. Maybe if you are having a hard time, you can watch it, too. I do believe it all depends on what web cam software and brand that you purchase, but on YouTube you can find just about anything. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTDCpMb9enQ.

Week 5: Clear

When I first started using Excel, I must admit, I did not like it all. It was confusing, but perhaps it was the many feautres that it provided for one to use. This summer, I had an internship where I had to use Excel for many documents- and I think I learned to love it! It's weird how a computer program can be intimidating, even to a college student.

One feautre that I really like on Excel is the "Auto Sum" option. This was one option that I used a lot for my summer internship because I was keeping track of monetary donations from different donors. It was easy because month to month, from donation to donation, I could keep up with how much that specific person was giving. In cell "A1" I had a donation for June, "B1" for July, and so on. After I had them all logged, I went to the "Formulas" tab on the top navigation bar in Excel, and clicked "Auto Sum". Then, there before my very ideas it just added it all up for me. Below, I tried to find a good picture of it so viewers could see what I am teaching them, instead of me just typing it out in theory:

Of course, some of us learn a little better by watching a video, so below I have linked a YouTube video on how to auto sum numbers. After my internship boss showed me how to work the option, I acutally watched this very video and it helped explain it a little more clearly to me. So, I hope it helps you, also!

YouTube Auto Sum instructional video: Click Here!

ENJOY!



Week 4: Clear

This week I became interested in the readings about application software for communications, found mostly on page 174 of our textbook. Could it be because my major is in the College of Journalism and Communications?

Application software for communications is sometimes considered system software because it works with hardware and it also works with transmission media. Some software even makes their users more productive and helps them create tasks. Below, I have listed some of the specific communication devices from the textbook that really stood out to me.

• E-mail: Can send messages and files via a network, most commonly the internet
• Instant Messaging: In real time, users can exchange audio, files, video and text. It can be purchased seperately, but many IM companies are free.
• Chat Room: (pictured above) Real time online conversation and requires chat client software.
• Blogging: Articles in the form of a diary or a journal format, usually listed in reverse chronological order. Most web sites do not require software to maintain their blogs.
• RSS Aggregator: You can keep track of changes made by web sites by RSS feeds. They are usually intergrated in e-mail programs and web browers.



Last Friday, Ask.com announced they will be shutting down their RSS feed program, called "BlogLines." The article below explains more in detail, but basically Ask.com could not possibly keep up the demands with rivals such as "Google Reader." It is also stated that Ask.com paid little attention to the program added in 2005 and did not update it as frequently.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20100910/tc_pcworld/askcomtoshutdownbloglines

This article just goes to show that consumers are watching and looking for new changes, and if your web site looks outdated and behind in the times, people will look elsewhere. It also is saying that people want to use the easiest, most convenient software out there. This society is a busy one, and people don't have time to use outdated features on a web site for communication.



Week 3: Clear

One of this weeks lectures had to be with donating computers. This topic came from "HW4- Potpourri." I thought this was a very interesting topic and a topic that, for many of us, was interesting to learn more about.

You always think that by donating your computer, you are doing the right thing. Perhaps you are. There are all of these non-profit organzations who are actively seeking people to donate computers, cell phones and other technological equipment for the greater good. I have listed afew below:

• Computers With Causes: http://www.computerswithcauses.org/
• Cell Phones For Soldiers: http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
• 911 Cell Phone Bank: http://www.911cellphonebank.org/

However, what I found really interesting from the lecture was that people are donating "junk" items, and it is costing these non-profit organiaztions and various donation centers money to properly get rid of them. It's amazing how you think you are doing something for the greater good, but come to find out you may be costing them money in the long run.

It's what the power point presentation called, "charitable donation." And it's a topic I thought was definitely worth mentioning.

I found an article from the New York Times that was intersting about this topic. Regarding Africa, and the amount of donated computers, using the words, "Digital Dump". I think this article speaks for itself, and I think the picture found on the site speaks justice enough.

• http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/technology/24junk.html

So what is this article ultimately getting at? Donation centers in the United States are getting so cluttered up with computers they cannot afford to properly recycle, that they are shipping them to third world countries, in hopes they are making a difference.

Instead, these countries are getting bombarded with computers, that the article says, "means that the imported equipment often ends up in landfills, where toxins in the equipment can pollute the groundwater and create unhealthy conditions."

Week 2: Clear

Ah, Ergonomics. It's seems like a topic we love to hate. We sitting on the couch, laying on the bed, and we grab our laptop and relax. Our back is in proper alignment, and most of the time sitting at the desk, we resemble this cartoon figure: all slocuhed over.

Ergonomics is about maintaing neutral body posture while sitting at your desk or workstation. Your joints should be in natural alignment, meaning your ears, shoulders and hips should be aligned. Also, your elbow, wrist and back of your middle fingers should be in alignment. There are 3 basic goals for proper alignment and ergonomics:

1. Use larger muscle groups: it reduces stress on the smaller muscles and tendons.

2. Maintain the neutral positon of your wrist.

3. Maintain the neutral body posture: No slouching!

Be sure to set the height, swivel and other features of the chair to reduce the risk of fatigue and neck and back pain. A good rule of thumb while sitting in your chair is that knees and hips should be about the same height.

Your weight should be evenly distributed on the chair. If the seat is too high or too low, unwanted pressure is put on your body. Your shoulders should stay relaxed and your elbow should fall naturally on the chair, with or without arm rests. Always keep your firmly planted on the floor.

The keyboard should sit right in front of you and be as close to you as possible. The top of the monitor screen should be at or slightly below eye level. The monitor should be at least one arm length away.

- Never cradle the phone inbetween your neck and shoulder. I know it seems easy to do, but it will eventually cause neck pain. Use speakerphone or a headset.

- Turn or tilt the monitor. Also, enlarge items on the screen if you cannot see them and adjust contrast and color. Make yourself comfortable.

One interesting thing I learned during this video was the "20/20" rule. I had never heard of this before. Every 20 minutes, give your eyes a break and focus on something else at least 20 feet away.

All of these items are very important in the workplace. Mainly because many of us are young, in our late teens, early 20's, and need to protect our back and our muscles. If we practice good ergonomics now, later, our body will thank us for it. If we plan on working in a business envirnoment in an office setting for most of our lives, we need to start practicing this right, now, to avoid injury later.

A good web site I found on ergonomics is listed below:

http://www.healthycomputing.com/kids/

I think a topic so often passed by is the topic of ergonomics with other aspects like heavy bookbags, cell phones and playing video games. This site talks about ways to take care of our backs early and some do's and don'ts. One items that stands out to me is the heavy bookbags. So often on campus I see students waltzing around campus with these HUGE bookbags overloaded with textbooks and binders. According to the web site, there are alternatives. Like the book bags on wheels. This will help reduce stress on the back and save yourself permanet injury down the road.

Week 1: Clear

This week, the issue of "Netiquette" really stood out to me. Netiquette is the "Golden Rule" of the internet. With little or no non-verbal cues available to use over the internet with social media, e-mails or blogs, we should try to be nice to everyone while using the internet. It only makes sense.

Through the lesson, I narrowed it down to some easy to remember facts everyone should try to remember when using the internet to communicate:

• Don't send out unecessary e-mails.
• Use respectful language. Remember, there are people on the other end reading what you have written. Think about how your message will be read and ultimately be recieved.
• Watch out how you use capital letters. Some readers take it that the writer is shouting, and being overall rude.
• Always check your facts before you post them or send them. And cite if possible!
• Before you ask the questions, see if the answers are already there! Research to find the answers to save yourself some time. If you still cannot find it, then it is okay to ask.
• Answer the question if you think you know it. You will be helping someone out! Plus, they may help you out with an unknown question later on.

Netiquette is very important in the business envirnoment. It shows professionalism and thoughtfulness. If you are sending an e-mail from a corporate account, it shows your corporate reputation inside of that e-mail. If your e-mail contains caps or false information, your reputation is in danger. This can also be true of social media postings from businesses, like their accounts on Facebook. Just because it is not a formal e-mail or internal computerized memo, it's still there for all to see, and most of the time, it is fans of your company. These followers are obviously listeners you do not want to offend.

I found this interesting Web site that lists ten rules of netiquette from the writer's perspectice.The URL is the following:

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

One aspect of this particular Web site is "Rule #2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior as you would in real life." The most important subheading under this rule is "Be Ethical." Truly, act online as you would in real life. It's obvious you would not speak false information to large groups of people in real life, so why do it on the internet? It it is false and damaging information, you may get in trouble for it.