Week 14- Muddy

A cloud. It just kind of floats up in the air on its own. It doesn't need any support. It doesn't need to be physically connected to something. "Cloud technology" applies some of these same concepts to the computing world. Cloud computing is an Internet based technology that connects the resources, software, hardware, and other parts of individual computers together. Using this technology someone might only need a computer monitor and keyboard, no storage hardware. Everything that you do on your computer can be stored elsewhere. Power can be shared and distributed as needed from different sources. It is refered to a cloud because of the picture of multiple computers being virtually connected.

This cloud technology is very helpful and useful in the business environment. It can be very economically benefical. A business can allocate its resources efficiently. If a business has only a limited need for a computer, it does not have to fully invest in a complete storage system that is made for a lot of information. It can simply use power and storage as needed through a host source. Also, a business can buy software in a way that may be best for them. Say a company would only have two or so people using a program at a time. Then they can purchase access to that program accordingly. For example, the use of five Excels at a time. 

Project- Secure E-mail

Article- Why Facebook's "social inbox" may not be right for business

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently launched a new communications idea. He is creating a communications account that is linked to peoples Facebook. This account can include email, IM, text messaging, and other forms of contact. This "social inbox" groups all forms of your communication with a person. Facebook also knows who your friends are, so it filters out a lot of spam and junk mail. This article is warning that this might not be a good idea for business communications. After all, Facebook and this particular idea targets the youth. Business transactions need to be more secure. Facebook has a track record of privacy issues. Businesses need to stick to secure email providers.

Week 13- Clear

There is a lot of information out there on the Internet. Some of that information is personal and not for everyone to have access to. If personal information gets into the wrong hands, it can be detrimental. Examples of some of this personal information is bank account info, social security info, and driver's license info. If someone can get this information over the Internet they can steal people's money, assets, identity, and more. So, it is important for people to make sure that their information on the Internet is safe. A good place to start for Internet Security is to have passwords.

Any website that you have an account with that contains personal information of yours, should protect your information with user names and passwords. A user name is a type of identification for a customer. It is usually your name or your email address, something that you can easily remember. A password is a private collection of characters that goes along with the user name. Most networked systems require the correct user name and password combo to access the information. Passwords protect peoples info from cybercrime. Cybercrime is when people commit online illegal acts. Hackers are people who try to break into systems, plant viruses, steal information, and do other illegal things via the web. These hackers are usually very smart, so to have a good password that they cannot figure out is safe. The longer the password and the more characters that you use, greatly increase how secure your info is.

Extra Credit- Avatar

Making this avatar was fun and easy. It was cool to see all of the options that they had for the different body features. This avatar actually looks a lot like me. This was very easy to use. I didn't have to register to use the website or pay for anything. I just simply followed the steps and tried to create a computer person that looked similar to my real self. You can use avatars to show other people in virtual worlds an idea of what you look like without getting to personal or use it for fun to be whoever you want to be.

Week 12- Clear

Do you ever wonder how computers and information are connected to each other? They are connected by networks. A network is a collection of devices connected together by transmission media. For example, a business can decide that they are going to provide all of their employees with computers that are connected together by a network. Advantages to this is that the company can control what programs and tools are available to each person. There are other advantages as well like better communication. Through networks people can communicate by email, chat, blog, and many other ways. Also, through networking you can share software and hardware. For example, many computers in a computer lab can be connected to one printer instead of the costly and inefficient alternative of each computer having its own. And say you want all of the computers to have Microsoft Office. Through networking, you can by a site license, for a discounted price, that allows all devices on that network access to the software.

Some common types of networks are LAN, MAN, and WAN. Local area network (LAN) is a network that connects devices in a limited area. A home, business office, or a school lab would be examples of this type of network. A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that connects LANs in a city or a town. A cable provider like COX or a telephone company would be an example of people who manage MAN networks. Finally, a wide area network (WAN) connects extremely large areas like countries or the world using a communications channel. The Internet is the biggest WAN in the world.

Extra Credit- Voice Over IP and Video Capture

Skype Video Recording

I really enjoyed doing this extra credit assignment. I had heard about Skype before but I didn't know that it was free and really easy to setup and use. I have recorded videos using the webcam on my computer, but this was my first time using this type of software to communicate live with other people. It is cool because in doing this assignment I got my sister to set up a Skype too. I am excited because now I can talk to everyone back at home in a whole new way!

Week 11- Muddy

Information. It is what drives society today. Think of everything we use that is technological. How would our lives be without smart phones, televisions, ipads, and  more. If you think about it, information technolgy is amazing and the people who develop these gadgets and ideas are mindblowing too. Who is going to come up with the next big idea? How does an idea turn into an actual product that you see on the shelves in the stores ready for sale? And then how do designers explain to the public how to use this new divice that is a change?

These are all parts of the system development cycle. This is a five step cycle. The first step of the cycle is planning. During this stage you would gather a team together, go over your plans for the new information system, and take suggestions on what should be done. The next step is analyzing the plan. Here you would investigate your idea, figure out the cost/benefits. Then you would design a new system. The next step would be toimplement your design. Here you would install, test, and train people on the system. Finally, develop maintainance and support progams for the system. Also, set up some kind of security to ensure that your system is safe.