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As the semester comes to an end I feel great about the entire semester in this class.  If I were to take this class and compare it to the other “introductory” classes that I have taken this semester this one was incredible compared to the others.  As this was really my first full semester of college since high school I enjoyed having a teacher who could and would hold open opinion discussions and keep them under control to the point where the class didnt get out of line or “steal” the spotlight from Dr. Brown.  The message was always there and the lesson was always learned.  The first few weeks in here were incredibly informational and I took alot out of them as far as the history and the basics of things that i never really cared about and didnt effect the way I used computers in the past. Now i have a much broader knowledge of the history and inner workings and theories that came from the evolution of computers and this I am grateful for.   My experience with technology has always been “self-taught” and never really instructed in any sort of direction but I see a good change to that now.  Before I started school and actually decided that their was no other option in my life and i needed to figure out what I was going to do I sat back and thought about how the future would affect the world.  What i gathered was that the future=technology.  No other source would spring up and make all the jobs useless and take over the future power of technology.  Networking and security, computer programming etc.  will always be strong fields in which inquisitive minds and creative people will always thrive.  I dont really beleive in the concept of “robots taking over” because if we were to acheive such a technology that we could make robots really beleive they were human and create an entire nervous system and a way for them to think logically and with their own thoughts I beleive that humans being able to “figure out” how to do that would be far more advanced than what they could program.  To program something you must atleast have the knowledge of how to make it work and it seems like everything we can get a robot to do is always 100 steps behind what a human can achieve.  The future to me looks bright and exciting.  I hope to see a world one day where dollars and cents dont rule the way that people live their lives but rather people determine the way they live their lives in which it is more of a resource sharing and information gathering society rather than a society of human hierarchy.   Until humans can work together in a way that is not destructive and decietful technology will never truly be able to make incredible leaps for the betterment of mankind.  I beleive that society itself must learn to co-exist with society itself.  If humans want to utilize technology for what it can and will become a concious decision will have to be made by everyone to decide how they want to take that technology into their lives and whether or not they want to use it for good or evil.  With all the morality set aside I do hope to see a future in which technology thrives toward the betterment of mankind.  The possibilities are endless and the future is just around the corner… Aim for the moon and even if you miss,  you’ll land among the stars.  Thanks for a great semester!

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I really beleive that virtual reality has a world of possibilities and applications.  Moving into the future there is no telling what the endless possibilities of virtual reality will become.  I think the gaming enviornment and simulations will be the first steps (and really are) in the future of this technology.  I like the concept of say what star trek had in it years ago in that you can walk into a certain room and be transported to a virtual reality world or setting.  If you want to be on a beach in Fiji then you will be on a beach in Fiji.  I think the application of this is quite possible as technology moves forward.  I used to play old RPGs for example Magestorm way back when I was much younger and played around on a thing called The Palace for awhile but havent really had the time or resources to put into gaming as of lately.  As far as current gaming goes I dont see a huge application of virtual reality compared to what id like to see it become but the way they can lay down multiple textures and layers to create a beautiful graphical enviornment is much respected.  Communication through virtual worlds can become very complex and you can form incredible relationships with people you have never met face to face but at the same time I think there is a somewhat shallow relationship made at the same time.  Although you caqn talk to someone and move around with someone in a game I still beleive that humans by nature need to touch and feel and really see something in the physical world to really make a full relationship with something or someone.  As technology moves forward it almost seems like people fall away from eachother.  Just thoughts

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Artificial intelligence creeps me out.  Some of the videos we wartched in class with the robots that were being used as actors or just even the ones up at Ripleys that greet you and talk to you creep me out.  The idea of computer programmed robots walking around in the real world as if they had there own place in it seems like the beginning to every horror story of the future with robots.  I am not a firm beleiver in the fact that robots will ultimately acheive the ability to truly think for themselves but as far into the future as technology will move I also cant really rule out the possibility.  I think artificial intelligence will mostly be used to aid in some type of decision making process as a brain to aid humans in certain tasks.  If the terminator goes down and i meet myself from the future and have to save the world….. sorry guys were screwed

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A bit late on this one but still want to share my opinion on the subject.  Robots pish me off lol.  I actually did enjoy the time spent in lab on the lego robots but I remember when legos were fun… lego robots…. eh not so much.  Spent an entire lab trying to build the proper algorithm for those things only to find out i was using the wrong software version in the end but in the end it all worked out.  Me and my partner eventually got the robot to do exactly what it was supposed to do and there was defineately a feeling of accomplishment that followed.

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this has been an interesting week as far as timing goes to discuss computer viruses… I currently have 6 friends on facebook this week whose accounts have been hacked into and flood the news feed with nonsense about random things that may strike interest in people enough for them to click on the link they provide and people fall for this.  not sure exactly how they work but it just blows my mind that soooooo many people will fall for these things and then end up having no knowledge of how to get rid of them afterwards (usually ending up calling me about it ha).  Another issue relating to this would be one of my PC’s at home catching a nasty little virus a few days ago and me having to give up on it and re-install windows today.  I dont really understand the intent that people have when they program a malicious virus just to screw with peoples computers but yet i run into it all the time.  As far as security relating to americans under law by the state/country I couldnt agree more that the patriot act is the most unconstitutional bill ever passed by our government and i think that our founding fathers would roll in their grave watching out country fall to a point when this just becomes “OK”.  Personal freedom in the United States is a passing fad i guess you could say and nobody seems to care about it.  However the problem is that when people give up on caring about these issues I beleive it will get to a point where we have lost so many of our personal freedoms that it will be too late to go back and restore our rights to privacy once the law becomes so bent that laws will counteract with other laws to twist the balance of the constitution so much it will be practically meaningless.   Releived there are professors out there who agree with these issues and will speak out on them…

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been an exciting semester in this class and it seems like every week it just gets better.  the whole scratch program was a bit tricky to pick up at first but i think after trial and error a thousand times ive figured it out and have a much better understanding of the simple commands used in that program and it seemed like the last few tweaks and adjustments were pretty simple compared to the start of the project.  Up and coming we have security related subjects which is pretty exciting for me because this is the actual field of CS i was to get into.  watched a documentary a few years back about a security HQ in the united states that fought off overseas attacks sent through the massive sea-bed fiber optics lines from countries just trying to data bomb us and that was actually the thing that sold me on trying to get into the field of networking/security so this should be a pretty exciting week for me.  i have no experience in actually writing a computer virus and have a whole lot of hostility toward the people who have written the ones that have destroyed my data in the past!  however it will be fun to get some insight on just what it is that they are doing and the whole sub-culture that comes along with it…. GO GIANTS!!! vols you disappoint me yet again

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well well well… what to say..  I feel like ive missed an eternity of classes being out sick but I dont really feel too far behind.   The HTML designing was a paaaaaaaaaain but I got through it and had a nice reminder of how big of a headache it is to make a webpage purely in HTML from nothing.  I may have put a bit too much time into my webpage but I think it turned out to be a success.   Still not a big fan of FTP, had alot of trouble with it in the past and imagine that still the same today.   I have some good friends who design web pages and i think that whole project is a great example as to why they charge sooooooo much to design one.   Ive been tinkering around with the scratch program for the last week or so and regret missing the lab for the introduction but I think ive got the hang of it and may have actually finished my project (minus a few minor tweaks).   Im guessing this is how basic flash games are made?   not sure but i am defineately looking forward to seeing what everyone in the c lass comes up with..   until next time… signing out (and i dont have the heart to say go vols with enthusiasm as usual after the last few shameful weeks) 

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Oh yes i do beleive we are.  making web pages is a pain in the butt however i do have a fair amount of experience with HTML.  When i was about 13 or 14 i used to write simple code for html and made a few small little websites through angelfire.com that really had no relevance to anything i just enjoyed making web pages because it was a new and exciting thing at the time.  This was back in the AOL days in 93′, 94′ and i remember my sites were basically app download and information sites for little programs like the old AOL spammers and little password cracking tools and such.  I think these were known as “AOL Progs” back then and they didnt work very well but were still fun to play around with.  I wrote one or 2 progs in “C” but have lost all the knowledge i used to have about programming(still have a yellow programming in C C+ book that has collected ALOT of dust over the years.  This weeks assignment is pretty simple as far as just making some basic HTML coded pages linked together but I am still spending alot of time on it because im a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to playing around with HTML and I can spend an hour just tweaking a few lines of code.  Im not really sure how much actual raw html programming is used because their are so many applications that will basically layout and build an entire page for you through the user interface and is much easier to add java,scripts,CSS etc… but just having the basic knowledge or “know-how” is essential to gaining an understanding of how html works at a basic level.  I have a few friends who started their own company for making web sites for companies and charge a  butt-load of money to put them together but i have a pretty nice little network of knowledge around me in the html field.  Im actually currently working on building a web site for a friends buisness’ design center in maryville (tile-time) just as a favor in my free time because my friends i mentioned earlier that started their company wanted $1000 to build them one.  Vert releived I made an A on the exam and look forward to seeing how everyones pages turn out next week.     GO VOLS PUT THEM BULLDOGS DOWN!!!

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The assembely program was incredibly basic and didnt seem to have very many capabilities.  Getting it working at first was a pain because i missed the lab where it was explained but once i got going with it i understood the concepts of what it was doing fairly well.  I used to do a little programming in Q-Basic when i was 12 or 13 years old using an olddddddd computer using DOSshell (oh ya old school) mostly did graphic creation and made a few little games but all the knowledge i once had in doing that is gone now… very hard to retain.  Tried to learn C++ once and gave up on that language real quick.  I feel like im getting a better understanding of the was computers comunicate on the inside between various parts and processes and im looking forward to getting some knowledge later on in the semester about how computers communicate with eachother through networks and over the internet.  Keep it up i enjoy your class very much….   GO VOLS!

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When i looked into building a computer i first thought about affordability but then realized this is not a reality only a simulation so i said screw it GO BIG!  The format of this post may be a little sketchy but here goes…

When choosing a motherboard i decided to go with the ASUS Rampage II.  If you can afford this it is a beast!   Fully equipped with  the Intel X58 chipset and SLI/CrossFireX on Demand – delivering blistering performance through its support for the new range of Intel processors and multi-GPU technologies such as 3-Way SLI and CrossFireX.  If you ask me this is cutting edge for gaming motherboards.

To keep going with some top of the line products my choice CPU is the AMD Phenom II X4 Quad-core 955 3.2GHz Processor.  I have never personally owned a quad core processor but from what ive heard from friends they are super fast!

For RAM i would get the OCZ Platinum Dual Channel Kit (4GB).  These sticks have 2GB memory and when it comes to newer games that make use of DirectX 10 its good to have a little bit more than just standard RAM.

For my video card i chose the ATI Radeon HD 5870… In few words this thing is a TANK!  The HD 5870 has 1 GB of GDDR5 onboard and a core clock speed of 850MHz, as well as full support for DirectX 11.  It will use up 2 slots in the system but is easily supported by the ASUS Rampage II.

For a hard-drive even though this isnt for real i would look strictly on affordability just because i have never had very much trouble in the past with hard-drive failure due to gaming.   Size would matter a little and speed (speed only effects the load time though) the Lenovo 43R1990 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive would be more than enough.

The DVD drive also not that important for a gaming enviorment is also not crucial because most games are installed directly to your computer nowadays.  If a choice had to be made the LG GH22NS50R DVDRW would be good and reliable.  It has powerful over speed performance and great reviews.

For a power supply i would go with atleast the Corsair Gaming Series GS600 power supply.  Along with fully sleeved cables it has enough wattage to run the system and has a 3yr warranty so they are built very well.

For a case i chose the Coolermaster 690 II Advanced case.  This case has a sleek design and is built around keeping the components inside the tower cool.  Very important when using the high end products inside!

After gathering all the parts i would take the  motherboard/CPU & ram and put them all together first.  The CPU would go in first followed by the ram.  once those parts are together I would take my case and lay it on its side snap in the back connector and place the pins for my motherboard inside.  Line up my motherboard with the screw pins and screw it all into place.  next i would install my harddrive into the casing with a few screws.  next i would put my optical/dvd drive in place with a few screws(similar to the hard drive)  next i would take all the wires for my lighting and plug them into the block and connect it to the motherboard.  then plug in eSATA/firewire/usb cables to the motherboard and install the power supply.  i personally like to connect all my power connectors sata/dvd/harddrive/audio/optical/fans etc.. before i connect my video card because i have broken a video card before being clumsy with cables.  once all my power is connected i would slide in my video card and connect the pcie cables.  Pretty sure i didnt miss any steps there but I would find out shortly when i power it up!

motherboard-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131352&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-_-Motherboards-_-NA-_-NA

CPU-http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=AMD+Phenom+II+X4+++Quad-core+955+3.2GHz+Processor&x=0&y=0

RAM-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298&Tpk=OCZ%20Platinum%20Dual%20Channel%20Kit

VIDEO-http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=ATI+Radeon+HD+5870&x=0&y=0

HDD-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822502016&Tpk=Lenovo%2043R1990%20500GB

DVD-http://www.amazon.com/LG-GH22NS50R-DVD-ROM-CD-ROM-Internal/dp/B003A1AO7K

POWER-http://www.corsair.com/products/gs600/default.aspx

CASE-http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6638

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