Day 9

1. "Good artists copy, great artists steal" -Picasso
Steve Jobs quoted Picasso when he was talking about taste. In the movie he talks about when you want to replicate something you bring in ideas of things that have already been created (http://atypicaljoe.com/index.php/site/comments/jobs_picasso_quote_great_artists_steal/) and you use them as a starting off point to make your product.


2. The "look and feel" lawsuit was between Apple and Microsoft. From what I gathered from the movie and Wikipedia, Apply sued Microsoft because they felt like they were copying their idea of the GUI when Microsoft came out with the Windows 2.0 and 3.0 operating systems. Apple ended up losing. The court ruled that Apple couldn't get "patent like protection for the idea of a GUI"(wikipedia.com).

3. I'm not really sure how this quote corresponds to the "look and feel" lawsuit. I could understand that Jobs felt as Microsoft was stealing his ideas, but then he would be calling them "great" and from the movie, I gather that he doesn't think they are great. I think that neither companies copied or stole from one another. They just built upon and bettered existing ideas. If people don't create things and then people elaborate on those creations how would we make anything to begin with?

4. here is a pie chart of the different market shares for operating systems.

Day 7

Blog 1: a better way to store *at least* 80 characters worth of data on punch cards

We thought a better way of using punch cards would be as follows. The letters a-j would have the "x" row punched and then the number the letter corresponds with the letter in the sequence. For example the letter "a" would have an "x" punch and the number "1" punched. Letters k-t would be identifiable because they would have the "y" row punched and then the number that corresponds with the letter in the sequence. For example "n" would be represented by a "y" punch and the number "4" punched. The letters u-z would have the "0" row punched plus the number it is represented by in the sequence. For example "w" would be a "o" punch and a "3" punch. Numbers would be represented by single punches of the number itself (0-9) and punctionation marks would be represented with 3 punches, since no letters or numbers have 3 punches in a column.
** the word "lorem" would have a code of (y,2) (y,5) (y,8) (x, 5) (y, 3)**

Blog 2: translate this binary code into text

I searched on googled "ASCII binary code chart" and clicked on the first website (http://www.pcguide.com/res/tablesASCII-c.html). From there, we were able to figure out what letters the sets of bytes represented (8 bits in a byte). There were different codes for different letters, lower and upper case. We also found a calculator that translated our code into text (http://www.roubaixinteractive.com/PlayGround/Binary_Conversion/Binary_To_Text.asp). The binary code we were given tells us to "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

Day 6

Reading an IBM 5081 card:

Punch cards, in general, were used earliest for controlling textile looms, operating musical instruments, but more modernly used for processing, input and data storage.

The IBM 5081 cards that we were given during class to read are actually the early forms of hard drives. It took me awhile to figure out what they were, but once I figured that out, I searched them on google and found a good wikipedia entry that helped me crack how to read the code. The url is:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card

Here are my instructions on how to read a punch card (they may be very confusing!):

1. there is a key found on the wikipedia page that really helped me--here is what it looks like

     ______________________________________________
   /&-0123456789ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR/STUVWXYZ
Y / x           xxxxxxxxx                
X|   x                   xxxxxxxxx        
0|    x                           xxxxxxxxx
1|     x        x        x        x
2|      x        x        x        x      
3|       x        x        x        x     
4|        x        x        x        x    
5|         x        x        x        x   
6|          x        x        x        x  
7|           x        x        x        x 
8|            x        x        x        x
9|             x        x        x        x
 |________________________________________________

2. From there I went along my punch card and tried to match up what was punched out with what I was given with this key.
3. I used another card to help me follow along so I wasn't constantly losing my place.
4. Remember to keep in mind was there are different sections of the card that are punched--y,x,0-9
      **numbers only had one punch (y-9)
      ** letters A-I had 2 punches (y and 1-9)
      **letters J-R had 2 punches (x and 1-9)
      **letters slash (symbol)-z had 2 punches (0-9)
5. After I slaved over my punches and trying to figure out what my card was saying, I realized that the code was in English at the top of the card.
6. The punches were given so that a computer could read the card and punch the punches, but the English was printed on the cards as well. 

Day 5

Two part question:

A) What is reverse engineering?
The video, Triumph of the Nerds, defines reverse engineering as taking a final product and moving backwards, trying to figure out the bits and pieces that made it what it was. For example, in the movie they talk about taking the PC and taking it apart piece by piece to try and figure out how they built it. For me, it is easier to understand the idea of reverse engineering if I think of it in fashion terms. There are many designers who have clothing that are very expensive. Stores like Forever 21, Old Navy, Gap, etc. take the look of these clothes and make their own, cheaper versions. Although it may not look exactly how the designer piece looks, it's similar enough that a person could get the two confused.

B) Is reverse engineering illegal?
My personal opinion is that reverse engineering is not illegal. Even though they are replicating the same exact thing, I don't consider it an ethical issue because the person(s) who are doing the replicating have no previous knowledge of the product they are duplicating. They are completely new to the research they will be conducting and then later developing. If it were that research was done, and then they got help from people who had information about the product I think that would be considered unethical, but since that is not the case I don't think it's wrong. Just as Professor Squire mentioned in class, it's as if two different people, who working independently of each other, come up with the same idea at different times--that is not illegal.
I also looked up reverse engineering online to see what others thought about it and here were their responses. Most believe reverse engineering is "an important part of software development"( http://www.chillingeffects.org/reverse/faq.cgi#QID195) because things can be improved upon if it is allowed. If researchers and programmers aren't allowed to take things apart and replicate them or improve them how will we get newer, better software?

Comment

I posted an answer to Ramsay's burning question about dual processors

http://ramsay-csc111.blogspot.com/2009/09/day-two-hardware.html#comments'

Day Two: Hardware

One burning question I would still like answered about hardware:

Honestly, I find this all to be a bit overwhelming and confusing, but I did have one question come to mind. What kind of hardware is a thumb drive? I would assume it would be an input, but could it also be considered an output because you can save stuff to it and take it away or off (I'm not sure how to phrase it) from the computer?

Response to Triumph of the Nerds

List 3 stereotypes of computer nerds as shown in the movie. This movie was made in 1995. Which stereotypes are still relevant today, if any? Which of these stereotypes have shifted, or are no longer relevant, if any? If you made a movie about computer enthusiasts today, are there any new stereotypes you would add?

1. Most people who are into computers are men
I think this is not as true anymore today. Although I usually go to men for help when I'm having trouble with my computer, I think there are a great deal of women out there who know a lot about computers too.

2. All wear glasses
I think this was true in the past because contacts weren't as popular, but in today's world I feel like lots of people who aren't "computer nerds" wear glasses or vice versa (computer enthusiasts wear contacts too!)

3. Anti-social
In the movie a lot of the nerds said that computers were their life. They lived and breathed computers. Although I think this stereotype has gotten a little better, I still feel like one can always pick out someone who is very technologically savvy within a group.

I think that if I were to make a video about computer enthusiasts today I wouldn't focus so much on how nerdy they were, but on how smart and dedicated they were to learning and discovering new things about computers. I might also add they computer enthusiasts always have the newest technology and coolest gadgets.

Day 1: Introduction

Hi, my name is Virginia Layfield and I'm a junior at Elon University. I'm majoring in Strategic Communications and minoring in Human Services. I took this class because I'm not the best with computers, but also because it fulfills my non-lab science requirement. I think this class will be interesting and I look forward to starting it.