The class started out strong focusing on binary, hardware, and software. As I stated in my first blog post, I was not to excited about binary. However, after hearing Dr. Brown explain it I am very comfortable in my knowledge of binary. It is pretty simple with basic math involved. Additionally I was very excited about the hardware section of this class. Even though I had already take the hardware course I had never actually assembled my own computer before. This class challenged me to do that, and I am appreciative of that opportunity. I learned that you can not just throw parts together; you have to make sure they are compatible. Lastly, during the first weeks of the class we got to look at a Assembly Language Simulator. I got the basic idea of it down, but i really did not understand it until I talked about it with the other students.  The ALS was not my favorite part of the class.

The middle of the course was when I felt things picked up speed. Class went over such things as: HTML, SQL, Scratch, and Internet Security. Out of the entire course I have to say that HTML was one of favorite things to have learned. It was just a basic tag system that I enjoyed using to make a website about my interests. Scratch was just as interesting as HTML, however I did not have as much fun with scratch. The first couple of times I tryed to make anything with it I did not get far, so I went with something a lot more simple. After I got the hang of it a week later things flowed much nicer. I took a very basic templet of the scratch website and turned it into a very nice evader game. Seeing the end result of my efforts make the getting there worth while. Lastly, the class went over interet security. It was just as much a discussion as it was a learning topic, which was a very nice change of pace. During this time the class discussed the need for internet security, as well as the need for hackers. Without hackers very little would have been developed, and likewise very little would continue to develope. However, If there were no ways to limit hackers the internet would just be a new wild west. Additonally, there is a line we can not cross if we want the internet to stay free, and that is the line of internet dominance. The point when the fear of hackers allows internet security to get out of control. That is something I hope never happens.

In the last leg of the class we went over robotics,  artificial intellegence, and vitual reality. Although I loved the binary, hardware, and HTML parts of this course, I have to say that this was the part that I feel was my favorite. Robotics was fun, and I enjoyed building and programming the robot with my team. I enjoyed seeing the TED talk where they made a robot that could fly like a bird. while talking about artificial intellegence we started discussing if humans would ever accept machines as equals. With Moore’s law we have to be approaching the point when machines will be able to learn and think for themselves, at which point they will be sentient as I believe. Even though we can not program a computer to have common sense they will develope it on there own, if pushed in the right direction. I see a future when people and machines are indistinguishable from one another. Lastly, we talked about virtual reality. This was probably my favorite thing we talked about all semester. I do not think I could explain my feelings any more than I already have in my virtual reality post, so please look there if you want to see my opinion.

This class was informative and fun. I am glad I took this class, and I feel I learned more than I origionally thought I would. The semester was over way to soon.

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My experience with virtual worlds goes back to before I was in grade school. It started with the NES and the game Super Mario Brothers. I loved to sit and play Mario and Duck hunt all do; even to the point of getting into trouble by my parents. However, my father was into video games as well, so it was also a bonding experience for the two of use. It soon evolved into role-playing games such as Final fantasy, Suikoden, Dragon Age, and The Witcher.  I allowed myself to be drawn into the virtual world without protest. My love for gaming and the virtual world soon got to the point where instead of wanting to go play with friends I wanted to go home and play video games. As I got older, my passion for gaming grew stronger. My collection of friends was small held together by our shared love of gaming. I still hung out with friends in person occasionally; however, my average day was school, work, and games. It still is today, but I am not obsessed like I was in high school. Games drew me into a world I could never experience anywhere else. In those games I was a hero who saved the world, the best thief in the world, the most suave silver tongued devil, or the best fighter in the world. I was everything I was not in the real world. games where my escape.

besides making me a little antisocial, video games have been good for me. They have taught me how to persevere and be creative when I am presented with a puzzle or a problem. I know this is over used, but it has increased my hand and eye coordination. Although those things are important, the greatest thing video games have taught me is to believe in something bigger than myself. They taught me to believe in the impossible and make it happen. They taught me that I am just one piece of the puzzle and that it is always better to have someone else help me with the impossible. Video games have taken from my social life, but they have given me something more. Now I just have to take what I’ve learned from video games and apply it to the real world.

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Artificial Intelligences are amazing. It is awesome how a little coding can make a machine seem so life like. Hopefully not too life like, because that just freaks people out. It is never good to flirt with the uncanny valley. Artificial Intelligences seem to just be starting out, but I hope at some point they will be a house hold item. The prospects are amazing from butler robots (which is my dream) to self driving cars. This week has also made me think of how humans will treat the AI’s. At first it will be just as servant machines, but I see a future in which AI’s are smart enough and have enough common sense through learning that they have all the same rights as people do. However, that would be in the very distant future. I loved learning about Artificial Intelligences in class. They are one of the things that interest me the most. Likewise, I enjoyed finishing up the robots this week. It is fun to see a little bit of coding go a long way.

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I have always had a interest in robots, and the way they can seem so life like if programed correctly. I believe robots will develop to a point where they are almost human. I enjoyed playing around with my own robot this week, and seeing the videos of different robots. My to favorites were the robot that showed fear at a certain tone of voice, and the robot that flew like a bird. They are demonstrations of how life like robots can be, and gives a template for progressing forward. I have enjoyed working and learning about robots this week, and I look forward to continuing it next week.

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I have never worried about hackers to much. Until recently I just thought of them as misanthropes with bad attitudes; however, with the recent rise in fear of hackers, and anonymouses relation to protests I see them as a force to keep tabes on. Though the current state of hacking is more agressive I was delighted to learn the origins of hacking, which could really just be called illegal tinkering. where as the first hackers never intended to hurt anyone; the new generation of hackers don’t seem to care. well that is the ones you here about most at least.

Viruses can be devisating and in the wrong hands even more threatening. I am greatful for virsus blockers and clearners, because without them browsing the internet would be a chore. However, one can not let the threat of viruses keep them from expierencing and exploring the internet, because the are frankly just never going to go away.

In conclusion, I do not agree with the the fear of hackers, they are not the boogyman. they may spread viruses, spread worms, steal acount info, and more, but a person who is smart on the internet will be less likely to be effected. Its the threats of viruses and hackers that make internet security a must.

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When I started this week I was excited about scratch; however, I quickly realized that it was harder than I originally anticipated. I am currently trying to recreate the first level of the original Super Mario Brothers for the NES. I am running into complications, but it is nothing I can not work out.

Now to get into the meat of the post. I thought the lecture by Mr. Pausch was both entertaining and insightful. I have to agree that the head fake method of teaching works well. most of the things I learned the easiest, I learned while focusing on something else. He seemed to be in good humor despite his condition, which added to the energy of his lecture. I thought that his point that if you don’t like some one you just haven’t given them enough time to impress you. Over all his lecture was more of a pep talk and a philosophy on life, which he admits in the end. However, he also admits that the pep talk and philosophy was not for the audience or for me, but for his children. I find that the be an endearing aspect of his lecture that only gives his message more credence. I greatly enjoyed Mr. Pausch’s lecture, and I look forward to continuing in scratch.

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Creating a webpage and uploading it to a database gave me a clearer understanding of how the internet works. It was rather exciting for me to view my webpage after I had uploaded it to the pstcc11.pstcc.edu database. The experience has shown me the amount of effort it takes to make and maintain a webpage. It was something that I really enjoyed doing, and am looking forward to doing it again.

learning about SQL was easier than I had thought. Of course, I did not know what SQL even was before this week. However, I learned that SQL has four commands which are: Insert, Update, Delete, and Query, which seem pretty straight forward. Additionally I learned that in relational databases you can create relationships by duplicating data in one table and matching it to another. Class was enjoyable this week, and I am interested in learning more about databases. I would like to practice a little with SQL; it could not hurt.

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I was feeling confident about using HTML when we started, because It did not seem that  complex. As Dr. Brown explained it I felt even more sure of my ability to do it. when I started the first thing I did was organize the page with the tags  <HTML>, <TITLE>, <BODY>, and so on. I got the I set up my font and background color,  and for the most part things were going well. I had to learn by trial and error, and use the teaching references that Dr. Brown posted for use. I was extremely happy with how I was able to turn a blank notepad page into a basic web page. One of the things that I did not like was having to go back and search for the reason things were not working, which I will admit was not always obvious to me.  I had a problem with typing in tags wrong, or putting  them in the wrong place. However, a short while into the project I hit a stride, which made me rather proud. I am extremely happy with how my web page turned out. On a side note, I saw that Dr. Brown noted not to use any software to help with the web page. I must admit that I had no Idea such software existed and I did not use any, but I am excited to see what software like that can do to improve my webpages. I loved working with HTML, and am looking forward to diving into other languages.

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I did not get the assembly language simulator at first, then It got easier. It has given me an idea of how data works within a computer. I have enjoyed the class so far, and I like the way the lessons flow together. My favorite thing we have done so far is the Build a computer blog. I really enjoyed looking at the parts, seeing what they do, and noting if they compatible. I believe that the class so far has given me a rough model of a computer, and I look forward to what comes next.

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I guess I should start with the case, and the one I have chosen is the Azza CSAZ-2000 Hurrican full tower case.  It is compatible with ATX, Micro ATX, and E-ATX motherboards. Additionally, it has 4 external 5.25″ drive bays, 1 external 3.5″ drive bays, 6 internal 3.5″ drive bays, and 7 expansion slots. One reason why I picked this case is its ability to keep itself cool with 4 120mm fans, 4 230mm fans, and can support a water cooling radiator up to 360mm. I will end with the dimensions: the depth is 23.2″, the width is 10″, the height  is 21.6″. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=41025&CatId=1510

I have chosen the Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H AMD A series ATX motherboard. This motherboard has an AMD processor socket that supports AMD A6-3600, AMD A6-3650, AMD A8-3800, and AMD A8-3850 processors.  Additionally, it has 4 240-pin DDR3 memory slots , which supports DDR3 1333 MHz, DDR3 1066 MHz, DDR3 1600 MHz, and DDR3 1866MHz memory. Each individual memory slots can support up to 8GB. The video chipset is an AMD Radeon HD 6000 series that has a rending ability of DirectX11.  The dimensions are:  length: 30.5cm and the width is 24.4cm. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=717470&CatId=7243

I chose the AMD A8-series AD3850WNGXBOX Quad-core A8-3850 APU. The very first criteria it had to meet was to be compatible with my motherboard. It has the FM1 processor interface that is compatible with my motherboard, and its wattage is 100W. It has a processor speed of 2.9GHz, 4mb L2 cache, and a graphics core speed of 600MHz. Additionally, it has an integrated graphics core and an integrated memory controller. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=685803&CatId=7239

I have chosen a Seagate ST32000641AS Barracuda XT Hard drive.  It is an internal 2Tb hard drive with a 6GB/s SATA interface, 7200 RPM spindle speed, 64mb cache, and the average latency is 4.16 (msec.). The form factor is 3.5″. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=4438030&CatId=4357

This is a Plextor Px-B320SA Blu Ray player. Its BD read speed is 8x, its DVD read speed is 16x, and its CD read speed 48x. This Blu Ray player is an internal SATA player that has a length of 7.28″, a width of 5.75″, and a height of 1.83″. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=4957045&CatId=3635

These are Kingston HyperX Blu HS 8GB (2x 4GB). They are 1600MHz DDR3 240-pin memory that is compatible with my motherboard. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=894285&CatId=4534

Finally I have chosen the Asus VE208T 20″ widescreen LED monitor. It has a backlight and displays in a 16:9 ratio. It has a DVI and VGA interface, and with built in speakers. Additionally I will get a keyboard and mouse that connects with either PS2 of USB. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details_ss.asp?EdpNo=894285&CatId=4534

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