njfelts's blog

I Love Technology.

This week Dr. Brown showed several video clips and a documentary which covered different areas of robotics. I find it interesting that robots have been around or in the making for as long as they have been, their longevity had never really entered my mind until reading the class assigned comic for robotics. Like everything in life, robots have a history all their own. I also find it intriguing how life-like androids/robots can actually be.

 If I ever had a couple of thousand dollars to throw around I probably wouldn’t hesitate purchasing rumba (spelling?) vacuum cleaner. I have pets and hard wood floors and it sure would be nice to retire the swiffer. In addition to cleaning up after my pets I would love a little robot (of some fashion) that i could control or program to chase them around. Since they would most likely become desensitized to little old; rumba–Lol.

My Fear, as with many people I’m sure, is that robotics will reach a point that less human interaction is required to a point that people no longer have jobs or that people will feel that it’s no longer necessary to be civil or have manners or care about their neighbor anymore.

I really can’t say much about working with robots in class, time was a little slim when the Lego Mindstorms were unleashed at the end of the morning. Our group did get to make the robot spin around and move forward and backward.  Hopefully, more to come later. .

Cheers.

Unfortunately– I somehow over looked, or forgot about, this blog entry. Honestly do not know which..

I do have  a few thoughts and first impressions of Pausch and Alice so, I’m going to write this blog late, reguardless of missed points. The video of Randy Pausch seemed very bittersweet. He was so accomplished and it was really quite amazing to see how positive, admirable, and selfless he could be given the hand he was dealt in life. He recongnized his life as a full and complete journey-bravo that.

I’m not a big gamer type of person. I quite like the old school NES with Tetris and Super Mario Bros. it’s simple easy fun. So, my first thoughts on Alice were, lol, “well, here we gooo..”  Soon, I realized after hours of sitting at the computer that one task is  many tasks combined that require continuous testing to get the slightest of results. The program itself seems slow and buggy to me. Things that seem like they should work or would be easy to accomplish take a lot of thought and trial/error.

Alice…has definately been an eye-opening experience of the amount of work it takes to experience the life of a programmer.

Cheers.

Nothing is really ever Secure…hack.

Years ago a roommate of mine sat me down and demonstrated for me that he could go into someone else’s computer and take control of it from his. When I asked him why he did it and how many times he had. He just laughed and told me that he did it for fun just to see if he can. He was real into flight simulator games and had groups of friends that he flew with and he liked to sneak in their computers and mess with them when they flew.

Viruses Happen..to you, me, and everyone.

A little more than a year ago my parents Internet was turned off at their house, confused about it, they called the cable company. They were told that their computer was so drastically infected that they were in turn infecting other computers on the network. If i remember correctly, the cable company was less than polite about telling them to have their computer fixed before calling back to have their service turned back on. My parents were dumbfounded.

Yesterday, The bank closed my debit card because 7am yesterday morning somebody got a hold of my number and made 2 online purchases on my account totalling nearly $400.00.  How lucky am I?

The bottom line really is that we are not ever “safe” from people looking to simply “have fun”, destroy an other’s property, or commit fraud.  These things will continue to happen in our technological world, and society will deal with it, dismiss it, and carry on.

Cheers!

Uploading my web page to a server was a rather straight forward process. After finishing the page i was looking forward to seeing it up on the site.

On My Computer the page seemed like a good first try at HTML,  all the pictures, links, and words worked great and I felt that the time i put into the assignment really showed.

Wow, I was surely mistaken.

After I posted all my pictures and the actual html document I followed the link and realized one of my photos did not work. It was a frustrating process going around and around trying to fix the problem, everything I tried failed. With no time left to change the page I had to live with the fact that one photo would not be viewable.

The following day, while at school, I looked up my page to view it on one of their computers and was really disappointed. Not only was the one photo, that i was aware of, not viewable but all of the other photos were distorted in some form or another too. It was embarrassing and disheartening to look at after the time i put into the page.

In conclusion, not only could I not figure out why the one photo didn’t appear but I have a funky distorted web page floating around out there that i can’t explain or comprehend what happened to it.

Ah-Ha, ha, ha..  I  had fun doing the assignment regardless.

Cheers!

HTML

This has probably been one of the most fun assignments that i’ve received in college, to date! It can be frustrating at times, yet overall I have enjoyed being able to do something creative.  The perfectionist in me is definately seeping out.  I am nervous, however  not knowing if pictures and links will work properly.  They work for me on my computer and i sent the file to a friend (who has an identical computer) and so far has worked for her. I also sent it to two of my parents computers and i was told that things looked funny on one of them[colors were different and no pictures] (i have a sneaking suspicion that it’s a browser issue on that particular computer-not positive) but the pictures did not work on either of their computers?? I wasn’t there to look myself nor was i able to tinker with them.  So I am uncertain of the issue.

I would say that i’m about 75-80% done with my web page. Though, I know that I will edit until the last possible moment and still feel like there is more I could have done in the end. Though, I am enjoying this assignment I feel that I will be happy when it’s done because it consumes oodles of time and brainpower to perform the repeat process of: do, and then save, fix, and then save, edit, and then save, etc.

Cheers!

Machine Code, Assembly Language and the Pseudo-Computer

I can comprehend that Machine Code equates to binary: 1’s and0’s. I can also comprehend that Assembly Language READ, WRITE; etc (a 2^nd Generation Language) uses assemblers to convert information to Machine Code. The Pseudo-Computer, however, still blows my mind. Unfortunately, not in a positive fashion either. I watched the online video a couple times and really felt I had the hang of how things should work. I figured out the basic read/write. I figured out how to add a couple numbers together. I was pumped up and ready, so I thought. Then, I tried counting down first following the video program. It worked so I began changing around RAM locations and Register locations. I kept failing, over and over. I would end up getting: OUTPUT: 0 or OUTPUT:1 and OUTPUT: Nan and of course the favorite of all Locking up the browser. I could not figure out what I was doing incorrectly. I know I totally failed on the counting up lab question because I couldn’t seem to figure out what exactly I needed to do to make it stop counting. I’m frustrated with this assignment, mostly, because I really want to comprehend what I am doing but can’t. I hope to eventually get this Pseudo-Computer sussed out.  Cheers!

I have never built or tried to put together a list of parts that i would need in order to build a Computer. I’m a true beginner at this. I chose to stay with the same website because they had everything that i needed to completely do this assignment, while creating as little confusion as possible for making decisions. When I do decide to build my first computer I imagine I will shop around for deals as well as have better knowledge on parts and brand names.

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154068
-I immeadiately noticed the front ports, i look for this feature in a pc.
 I like that this case has room for expansion and space for fans (as mentioned in the reviews) and would be plenty big enough for anything i would ever need.

Powersupply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163109
-I chose to upgrade the PSU to a 600watt rather than use the 300watt that came with the case because when it comes to the Power Supply i think it’s better to be safe than sorry and over compensate if necessary to avoid having problems or having the hassle later on.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
-I really was unsure there are so many options i really just had to choose one and I based my decision largely on the previous customer reviews and specifications that were listed. Also, the colorful components and connections seemed like it would make assemblyeasier for a first timer, like myself.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
-I simply referred to what the motherboard required and used customer reviews to help me finalize a decision.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056
-I chose an Intel processor because it’s what runs on both my laptop and home computer. so, far has been a name i can trust.

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121326
-I chose an ASUS video card because it’s a name i recognize and have heard before and it received good reviews.

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136161
-I chose Western Digital again based on the fact that it’s a name i’ve heard before andthe reviews were good. Additionally, it connects by SATA cables.

Optical drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188
-I chose Samsung, another name i recognize, received good reviews, and also connects by way of SATA cables.

Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001317
-I chose a Samsung monitor because it’s sharp looking, nicely sized, and the price was decent.

Keyboard/mouse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109156
-I chose a Microsoft USB keyboard/Mouse Combo because the price was good and I don’t require anything fancy.
 
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515
-I chose XP Professional for an OS, because i prefer it over vista.

Computer Assembly:
-First, remove screws and take out 300watt PSU that comes with the case and replace it with a 600watt PSU.
Then,
-Install CPU and heatsink on the motherboard and plug in the power cord for the CPU fan.
-Read the manual to know where the dual slots for the RAM are then line up the grooves and place the RAM in and push down until it secures.
-Place the backplane that accompanys the motherboard into the case.
-Put motherboad in the case and line the connectors up with the backplane and secure them so that they connect and the screw holes for the motherboard are visible, then Use the wide thread screws to secure the motherboard to the case.
-Remove screws from the drive cage and take it out, place hard drive in the cage and secure it with screws then carefully replace the drive cage so you do not snag any wires then screw in the screws to secure the drive cage.
-Then, Unsecure the screws and Remove the cover from the case,for the CD/DVD-RW, slide it in and resecure the screws to hold it in place.
-plug the switches into the block from the motherboard: power, reset, and hard drive led (careful to match up the negative and positive). Then secure the block to the motherboard.
-Match up and plug in USB connectors from the front of the case to the USB connections on the outer edge of the mother board.
-Then, Insert the video card into the PCIEX16 expansion slot and secure it with a screw and plug 6pin power connector into the motherboard.
-Next, plug the power supply SATA connections into the CD/DVD-RW and hard drives. Then connect a SATA cable (that comes with the motherboard) from the CD/DVD-RW to the motherboard and SATA from hard drive to the motherboard.
-Plug the power supply 24pin power connector into the motherboard.
-Close the case and plug in the monitor, USB keyboard and mouse.
-Power up computer and Install the OS.

 Hope that I didn’t forget anything important–

Cheers!

I will admit that the idea of learning binary scared me long before even begining to study computers. Before this lesson binary was simply a term i’d neglected to look into which infact turns out to be the most important term in relation to computers themselves! I find binary to be rather impressive after all.
 I tend to learn visually, therefore, Dr. Brown’s lecture and instruction on binary really got me motivated and thinking though i didn’t feel quite confident enough to take the quiz before coming home and reiterating the lesson with myself for about 20 minutes before making that attempt. The comics, so far, have been very straight forward and easy to understand leaving little to have to speculate on. Additionally, I find that the comics mixed with Dr. Brown’s lectures make for an easy accessible and more interesting way to learn.
 I am still not sure of Hexadecimal. I missed the quiz question related to finding the Hexadecimal equivalent of the binary number: 110010101011 because I translated it as 121011 rather than CAB. I was baffled by which would be correct and chose the wrong answer. I thought, why, if C is 12, A is 10, and B is 11 did it matter. In the end, I realise that it must be about following the order of the Hexadecimal system.

Hello,

My name is  Nathina Felts. My major is CSIT Networking and communications concentration. I am a full time student and this is my third semester at pellissippi and most likely this will be a challenging semester for me because I’m taking 18 credit hours. I have always enjoyed computers though I don’t have much experience  I look forward to learning all about them.

I bought my first home 3 years ago so I enjoy being a homebody and doing things around the house. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, hiking, and listening to music. I am also a vegetarian and rather enjoy cooking when time allows.

I like browsing the internet for things to buy on sites like: amazon.com or zappos.com, ikea.com or inmod.com but rarely make purchases. One of my favorite sites to frequent is http://www.thinkgeek.com/index.shtml .

I look forward to a good semester.

Cheers!