Week 12

This week in class we discussed about intellectual property and the heated debate relating to piracy. 

Before the internet existed when we write our thoughts down on paper and publish it in a book, we "owned" our thoughts and could sue for copyright or piracy. Now that we write our thoughts on a online platform such as Facebook where they "own" everything you post onto their website, do we still "own" our thoughts and ideas. By posting online, it almost seems as though you are losing your rights attached to "owning" the work as the public can technically take it and use it/ manipulate it for their own private uses and there will be no legal consequences if the material does not leak out.

We probably all have downloaded music illegally off the internet at some point in our lives, I have to admit that 95% of my music library on iTunes was obtained illegally. At the end of the day musicians are no longer relying on CD sales as their main source of income. The music industry is all about branding the artists and if an artist has loyal fans, they will automatically have high CD sales and sell out on concerts. 

My lassez faire view on music piracy does not extend to the illegal use of other files such as written pieces of work or commercial use of someone else's work. In the end its all about respect. If you have any respect for the creator of the piece of work you will give them full credit if you use it. Take music as an example, if you really like a band, you will purchase the (real thing) CD to show "support" even if you can easily download the track off the internet illegally. 

Project 2

Project 2 is definitely much more complicated and rigorous compared to the first project. I really shouldn't have left this until the last minute; however, I had 2 midterms this week so I neglected this project until Friday afternoon.

Most of my friends in this class commented that fractal was harder than fx so right after my midterm, I started to work on fx. Although the first two parts of fx was relatively straight forward, I was stuck on the third part as didn't know how to write the conditions to recognize "key inputs". Once I figured that out, I wasn't sure on how the individual rgb boolean was suppose to react to an input. It took me 2 hours, 5 versions of the code in order for the program to run smoothly. I used the site docs.racket-lang.org to look up various definitions that I needed.

Fractal on the other hand was similar to the recursion exercises we did in class, the twist was that we had to write recursion on a struct instead of a single value. Having already figured out how to write string conditions, the rest of the project was relatively straight forward.

I really enjoy working on these projects as the entire point of learning about computer coding is to create software. Its always fun to receive some buggy code, and then have to understand what the code does and debug the program.

Week 11

I just wanted to share some thoughts regarding to working hours that was discussed last class. As I am looking to work in the business industry, technology such as the cellphone, laptop, internet, all make the standard  9-5 workday unrealistic. If you work in the service industry this applies to you the most. For example, as a corporate lawyer working on an international project your clients are expecting that you reply to their emails, phone calls etc within a short period of time. This means that if they are half way around the world, when they send you a document that needs to be signed in the middle of their work day, you have to wake up in the middle of the night to respond to their request. You are working around the clock or whenever you are needed. This also applies to other sectors such as the health care industry. Doctors are on-call, they definitely do not have normal working hours if they work in a hospital.

This week we took a look at the diminishing privacy left in our lives. I believe in this day and age where are profile is a click away, we can not take piracy for granted because our information is something that can be capitalized on. If our privacy is a good that be bought and sold, businessmen are going to exploit this opportunity to the fullest like they always do with anything. A business exists to make profits, ethics is merely a side story. A database containing our personal information along with our personal preferences is probably being created by Google or a online shopping site.  

Week 10

Test 2 was definitely less straight-forward than Test 1. The short answer questions required us to think beyond our notes, use common sense/knowledge and combine the different topics that we learned over the week to come up with a good answer.

In lecture this week we looked at computers and work, and how the invention of the computer has affected human lives. This topic is similar to a seminar course I am currently taking which explores how technology influences humans through analyzing literature. We’ve tried to define technology and examined the fact that even though technology is an object that humans have created, technology, in turn, is creating a subject (changing us) for the object to exist. We must analyze from a multitude of perspectives and dimensions in order to make full use of the positive aspects and minimize the adverse effects of technology. 

In both classes we looked at the Industrial Revolution and in the seminar we just read Henry Ford's My Life and Work. I feel like both of these classes complement each other without too much overlap of material. In my seminar class we dig further back into history and try to discuss some "bigger" ideas, such as humans being defined by technology or technology as a means to regain grace. In CSC104 we focus on one specific technology, the computer, and analyze different aspects of it and the issues and effects that have been created as a result of the invention. 

Week 9

This week our lecture was on networks while our quiz was still on recursion, the quiz was too simple that I thought I was writing down the wrong answers. While talking about token networks the interactive example was a good method to illustrate how it works.

While looking at the various different networks we looked at the security functions / trust levels that each network brought with them. Prof Heap also showed us how he could access files from the cdf server and see what other cdf had opened on their screens. This led me to try to find out how secure my own home network & my cell phone hotspot are. Since my wifi network at home is a bus network I found that I could download a “sniffer” program and intercept packets of data that are being transferred to other computers. I could even intercept a voIP call if it encrypted a certain way. As I got more curious about encryption and security I read about keyloggers and file encryption.

After doing some basic research I logged onto “Connection Hub,” a router managing software that comes with Bell Internet service. From the online site I can now view everything that is connected to the network both through Ethernet and through WiFi. I can also change the router password and the type of encryption used.    

Test 2 is next Wednesday. Time to study!

Week 8

Project 1 was due Friday, it was surprisingly easy. It took some time to figure out the definition for right cycle; that was probably the only thing that was tricky. At first I was trying to write the definition using the predefined functions such as drop, in the end I took the easy way out and wrote the definition with simpler functions (first, reverse). All roads lead to Rome. I also tried to understand the code that was prewritten; however, I couldn’t wrap my head around it and as a result I went to Prof. Heap who gave me a clear explanation. In addition to intellectual problems, I also encountered technical issues as my laptop froze many times while I was running the program to test the effect of the variables. When I got the program to function properly I was extremely happy and relieved. Through this project I have furthered my understanding of how to write a computer program.

In class we talked about the development of operating systems. I found the concept of time splicing very interesting, I now understand how the computer can run many programs and services at the same time. It was also surprising to learn about how people had to line up to use the massive computers back in the day. In terms of operating systems, I’ve owned and used Windows XP, 7, 8, Apple iOS (iPhone) and Android Jelly Bean (Galaxy). I personally like Windows 7 the most out of all the operating systems I have used as the interface is not complicated to use and “efficient” in my opinion.  

The wonderful world of SLogs! Week of October 21st

This week we learned about the hardware portion of various computer memory storage devices, how was stored and operations were carried out through the von Neuman system and finished the algorithm for the crease folding pattern. The material covered, including the colour manipulation, was easy to understand and absorb. Starting the tutorial exercises early also helped tremendously as I was able to try all the examples and remember the format of the outcomes. For example, the colours are always listed (red, green, blue, alpha). As long as I review the material or use the programming functions often, I believe that I will be ready if the material to show up on the test/exam. 

I definitely enjoyed finishing the crease-pattern once and for all. I was glad that it was a topic that was developed through many weeks and we were able to apply what we learned each week to get closer and closer to the solution. It was very satisfying to be able to complete a fully functioning algorithm that solves the problem! 

The sneeze project will be due on Friday and after reading the handout, I believe it should be somewhat challenging. In order to do well, I may consider working with a partner so that we can bounce ideas off each other, or I will begin early, again procrastination hurts, so that I will be able to complete the project "easily".