Week 3: Clear-Understanding Hardware

Week 3 now down 00001011 more to go (binary), still trying to get it. I did find a nice website that has an application that translates binary, just click the link.

Now on to this weeks material:
This week we watched lectures and read material on Networking concepts. Though a lot of the material was above what I already knew, I did find most of it very familiar and NOT above what I am capable to understand. I already had the basics of home networks, as I have a desktop, 2 laptops, a printer, and my TV all on my Home Network. But the technical parts like making sure I have the proper wireless security and types of cabling was new to me. My next step for my home network will be a backup system as was discussed in this week's material. I plan on using a spare hard drive and connecting it to my wireless router to backup any important information I may keep on my computers, such as previous tax returns, photos, and other important documents.

"Image created by (Will Bostwick). http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestanding/3115399121/"



My home network is not quite that intricate, but it does seem to keep growing into something that resembles this one in the photo.

Another bit of interesting facts that I learned about were the different WiFi types (802.11). I learned that I must know what type of wireless Network Interface Card my devices have to make sure that they are compatible with my router which is an 802.11g. (I really wanted to move up to an "N", but have not had a real reason yet as my wireless devices seem to operate very nice as they are, even streaming Netflix on my Sony Google Television.

Needless to say, today I came across a problem with my cable modem, it stopped working!! I don't know why it stopped, but I was able to go online in the morning, then my internet access was disconnected. I went round and round going through the steps of trying to get it going again. I called Cox cable to have them refresh the signal, I tried using a different cable outlet and nothing!! They offered to set me up with an appointment to have a technician come out, but I politely declined thinking, why would I pay $60 for a technician to come out to tell me my modem isn't working anymore? So I took my chances and went to BestBuy to purchase a new modem. I brought it home, called my Internet Provider and gave them the MAC address, plugged it in and boom, off to the races I went! The only thing that puzzled me a bit and still has me puzzled is that I never had to go through the setup process with the CD that was included with the drivers and such. But still, I have my internet back!!

Well looking forward to next week! Stay tuned!

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Avatar Creating

Well, finally getting around to posting about my Avatar experience!!
I had a good time creating my Avatar, I just had to find the right website to use. Some of the websites had bad reviews and were suspicious of having spyware, but decided to go with IMVU. IMVU is a virtual chatroom where you create your Avatar and can go through different rooms and places.

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It was a fun experience to build my Avatar once I got started. I used IMVU because of what all it offered. Some of the other Avatar sites either didn't work or offered boring Avatars. This one used more lifelike creations and more options, even though there were some hoops to go through, such as linking my account with Facebook and going through the tutorial. I loved the ability to personalize my Avatar by purchasing (through credits) different clothing options and other accessories.

Here are a few shots of my Avatar:



"Images created by Christopher Ondrako, 2012. Permission granted to reuse with attribution."

I found myself trying to interact with others in the different chatrooms, but found the interface very slow and difficult to maneuver. But nonetheless, I love my Avatar, and look forward to switching it up at times so stay close and watch out for more!

Week 2: Clear-Understanding Hardware

This week in ISM3004 we read and watched lectures on Understanding Hardware. Even though it started out kind of tricky, being that I had no idea or understanding about binary and circuitry, it became very clear when we moved on into Personal Computers.
I have always had a keen interest in computers and how they work. I can remember back 19 years ago when I first started playing on computers. I started out mostly playing video games such as the Wolfenstein SS game.



 Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/people/boogah/

How addicted was I after that? Wow! I mean really! It was a pretty exciting game but not enough to keep me from browsing through the computer and looking at the files and playing with some software. I then began using a very good graphic software and was able to make great looking pictures, scenery, and newsletter templates. From that moment, I was hooked, I had found something I really enjoyed doing.

In my years, I have had a few computers and some that have crashed. The first time that it had happened to me I was horrified, it was about 10 years ago on my laptop and I didn't know what to do. But I did remember that every so often (6 months or so) I had done a system backup on some CD's. So I inserted the CD and the booted on the computer. A few steps later and some hours I was back in business, thou all of my data was not saved, I at least had my computer runner with a working operating system again! I was so relieved.

I had then gone a few years now with no problem until a desktop computer that I had bought had crashed, the hard disk was not working and it would make noises. I then thought, this computer is only like 3 years old, I can't afford to replace it, or even have it worked on. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands, blindly I went to a local Electronics store and bought a hard drive. I got it home popped open my computer and said, oh this can't be that bad! I followed the instructions that came with the drive hooked it up and boom, off to the races I went!

So when I began reading this week's material, I was like...Bam!! Right up my alley, a subject I enjoy and something that I know a little about. Though there was quite a bit of information that I actually learned and will help me in the future, especially when looking at Core Processors and knowing what is the difference between them and also looking into the RAM and the type of disk storage offered. I really enjoyed this week's lesson and looking forward to some more!

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Week 1: Muddy-Fair Use/Copyright

So...

Week 1 is in the books, and so am I. Being that this is my only class this semester, I am able to spend my time and energy solely on this material, enabling me to even go in depth with the additional readings and resources. This week I got right in to my blog, I had a nice photo that I took while on vacation and embedded a link to a website that promotes the place that I had traveled to. Needless to say, after posting my blog and submitting the link to the class. I was instructed that my post was fine as a practice post, but not as coursework. So, back to the drawing board I went, I actually should have read all the instructions before jumping right into it. The biggest misunderstanding I had was the attributions of graphics, videos, and photos. So I did nothing to attribute my photo, which would have taken away from my grade if it was not just a practice post.

Still, I am determined to get it right and learn what I need to know about copyrights and fair use. It is still fuzzt on what I can use and when and where I can use things. Even after going to the Creative Commons website I am still unsure of when I have permission to freely use something or not. But I will continue to research this until I know for sure!

Even when i go to Flickr and do an advanced search, I am still not sure whether an image may be used or not. There is just so much information out there that at times it feels too overwhelming and I get confused, mostly because I tend to overthink things.

Here is a little short I found on YouTube:

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Well off to week 2:

Day 1: Or is it day 2? Well on with the point. I am typing my first blog for my ISM3004 class @ The University of Florida. I have never been into blogs or blogging, just because I have my own life to worry about and live and do not have time to read about what other people are doing, I really didn't care. But being that it is a requirement for my course I am open to exploring this type of social media. I am still unsure of what exactly I am supposed to be doing, but will learn as I go I guess. I have heard of tags or labels, as they are called here, but never really learned about them. The only tagging I had done was tagging pictures on Facebook and such. I am supposed to use various icons, but don't see any here, I do see the ability to add Links, images, and videos so maybe I will do that in the future.
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San Andres, Colombia

Well I went ahead and added this picture that I took when on vacation at San Andres, Colombia. What a trip that was and such a beautiful place! You can visit the website for San Andres by clicking on the colorful wording. Oops, I hope I have not violated any copyright laws by linking the website, I guess I better read more on that.

I actually kind of like this and am finding myself not wanting to stop, but I don't want to bore anybody!! So I will sign off for now.......until next time!!



Much more to come!!

"Image copyright Christopher Ondrako, 2012"