Thursday, December 8, 2016

L13 - Operating Systems


  • An operating system is a type of software
    • TRUE
  • Operating systems control the loading of software applications onto a computer
    • FALSE
  • All OS's offer user preferences, allowing you to customize your computer
    • TRUE
  • An operating system prioritizes the tasks that a CPU does
    • TRUE
  • The following devices have an operating system: An apple iPod, a Dell laptop computer, Nintendo Wii.
    • TRUE

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Job Shadowing

I was job shadowing Ann Vasko that works at SAS. She picked me up at my house at 8:40 and we drove to SAS building C first to go to the cafeteria. I got a Mushroom, Cheese and Turkey Sausage omelet. I got some water with it as well. Ann got another Omelet but instead of the sausage she got bell peppers in it. After that we got back in the car and she drove me around the buildings giving me a tour. The tour she gave me ended at around 10:00 and we went into her office on the 6th floor to show me where she worked and what she did. She had a big TV that she could hook up an HDMI cable to so that she could see on a larger screen. She had 2 monitors and she taught me about ORION for about 50 mins and then we had to leave to go to a 1 hour meeting. It was very interesting, the meeting started at 11:00 am and there were 9 people including me there. They talked about how in Europe in 2 years or so they are putting in place a law that requires people to give them permission to use their info for data, or contact updates, etc. They have a huge program that has everybody's data and they are trying to find a way to bypass the law or delete all the contacts in time. Apparently there are 4 million contacts that they have in total. The meeting was somewhat boring but bits and pieces here and there i found interesting. I payed attention mainly to the numbers and statistics of what they were talking about. The meeting ended at around 12:00 pm and then after that we went to got lunch in the same building (T) because we didn't want to go outside because it was cold and rainy. For lunch i got some BBQ with "Cowgirl" beans which is basically like baked beans but with some more vegetable or onions or something. It was very good and we sat with Ann's employees that worked for her. We talked about different topics here and there like retirement, school, jobs that are available, etc. It was all very interesting that i lost track of time and before i knew it, it was around 1:15. My dad was coming to pick me up at 1:30 so i would have time to get to DriversEd on time. We put our trays away on the tray belt and they cleaned it up for us because apparently SAS is extremely lazy. The link to the SAS website is www.sas.com, that's literally it. My dad came to pick me up like 10 minutes later and i thanked Ms. Vasko and left. So overall i wouldn't want to work there because i don't want a job of being in an office all day working on the computer 24/7. It was a good experience and i would go again just to see a different type of work within SAS that isn't on the computer in an office all the time.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Lesson 11- The Internet

  • What is the internet?
The internet is the world's largest WAN. It has millions have smaller LANs in it. Everything you find online comes through the internet. Before the 1990's only a few people have ever used the internet. As of December 2011, 2 billion people used the internet. Now it is a lot more because the internet has become a source of information for multiple people in the world.
  • What is a protocol?
Network protocols are rules for how computers in a network communicate with one another. They enable the connection, communication, and data transfer. The first network protocol was ARPANET in 1969. It was soon used for file transfers, email, etc. Around 1983 more protocols called TCP/IP was the standard that network used to swap data.
  • What is DNS?
Translating domain names into the IP address that the internet used when locating a computer need the DNS or Domain Name Service. If we didn't have it, there wouldn't be any Internet communication. The DNS looks up a name and returns an IP address and the opposite can occur as well. Each part of the Internet has DNS servers and each computer has a specific DNS server. Some DNS servers only have a limited number of host names and IP addresses.
  • Explain what an ISP is and what it does?
An ISP is an Internet Service Provider. It's an organization that provides service for your access to the internet. It can be organized in multiple forms to match the type of space they are trying to action. ISP's allows you to create personal websites as well that you can keep. Not many but some still offer dial-up connection. It connects networks to a larger network.
  • What is a PING and Firewall?
PING sends test packets through the Internet and determines if the machine on the other end received that packets. It can tell whether your connection to another machine is working or not. It determines how fast or slow your computer connects to another machine or part. A firewall can be software or hardware. Most business manage and customize their own firewall to fit their needs of what is allowed on their network.
Connecting to the Internet
How Networks Link to the Internet:
The internet is connected of many smaller networks. They all communicate to one another so it more of networks connect to one another to create the internet and not the network links to the Internet. The smallest networks are ones that Internet users set up in their homes. It runs through the ISP and that connects it to other points of other networks. Backbones are large fiber optic cables and Routers move data between networks.
What Is an Internet Service Provider?:
An ISP helps individuals and companies connect to the internet. It gives you can email address, access to some storage, and maybe some web hosting services to help you. They allows customers to choose the type that best meets their needs. Dial up accounts used to be common but today DSL's and cable internet are the most common type of consumer connections. They can be made through copper wire in telephone lines, cable TV lines, or other wiring like fiber optic lines.
Connecting Your Computer to the Internet:
To connect a computer to the Internet you need a modem and ISP, you plug your computer into the modem and turn it on. DSL connections use phone lines but don't tie up the phone lines, ISP the connection is always on. DSL use the same lines that go to your TV, if you have a T1 connection, nobody else can use it. You can connect to the internet wirelessly on the computer. Instead of the modem connecting to the computer it connects to a wireless hub or router. One you connect to the ISP it will assign your computers it own IP address, it is a number that identifies itself on the Internet.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Lesson 8 Making Presentations

Presentations have 3 goals:
Inform: tells info about a topic
Educate: telling information to get the audience to do something about it
Persuade: to convince someone to do something

People learn in three different ways:
Seeing: using pictures and visuals (get info from screen and not speaker)
Hearing: using sounds and voices (get info from speaker and not screen)
Doing: using hands on activities, actions, Q&A's, etc. (get info from actions and not really speaker or screen)

4 things that make a up a PowerPoint Presentation:
Text: Words on a pp slide
Charts and Graphs: Data on a pp slide (math, money, science, timeline, etc.)
Photos and Graphics: Pictures and objects in the pp slide for visual people
Audio and Video: Videos and sounds that teach the read info, can give a more broad topic of info with videos for visual and audio people.

Presentation Rules:
Slides simple and easy to read 7-7
State your purpose
Add image to support purpose
Relax when you speak
Don't read the slides directly to the audience
Make eye contact with the audience
Practice your presentation

Colors:
Light colored backgrounds with dark text
Dark backgrounds with bright text

Font Size:
Use large font size so it's easy to read
Limit how much text on each slide
Make text clean and big
Make multiple slides if you can't fit all the text on the 1 slide

Organize your presentation:
State purpose
Present in multiple ways
End with a summary

Supporting Images:
Keep people interested
Reinforce key messages
Help visual learners understand

Avoid Cluttering with slides and images:
Avoid slide clutter
Don't use to many colors

Relax and be Friendly:
Don't read slides word for word or don't talk to fast
Add info and example in own words
allows time for note taking
answer audience questions
practice presentation

Friday, November 4, 2016

POIT Lesson 6 Peripherals


  • Peripherals: Devices that provide the computer with input or output.
    • Mouse - Input= Optical or laser, wireless or wired, trackball, USB mouse.
    • Keyboard - Input= Input device that sends a signal of keys or key combinations to the computer as to what to do.
    • Monitor - Output= CRT and LCD, Monitor can be an input device when it's a touch screen, pixel is a small colored dot that is displayed on a screen.
    • Printer - Output= Scanner = reads the image that is a document or photo and sends it to a computer, can't save it as a processing document. Multi function = scans, prints, copies, faxes, etc. would have one at work.
    • Flash Drive - Input= CD Drive, Floppy disk drive, Blu-ray. External Drives: Things that hold information as storage for you, can go into your computer, have bigger ones, 
  • Tower Cases: have one bay for optical drive, different sized and types can be loaded into the same case
  • Dream Computer: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Printer, Scanner, Storage Devices, Game controllers/joysticks

Monday, October 31, 2016

First 9 Weeks

What is your impression of the first 9-weeks of high school?
High school is insanely better than middle school. It's a lot more chill and i really enjoy it.
What has been difficult about the transition from middle school?
Nothing has really been difficult. Everything is running smoothly.
What has been easy about the transition?
The teachers have helped me transition better. Also i know people from my past school so i know some people and they could help me.
What have you learned about yourself?
I have learned that i can work well with others around me.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

ID Theft Faceoff

1)The names of three nationwide consumer reporting companies are Equinox, Expericorps, and TransAmerica. The actual names are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
2)Use random numbers and letters rather than info people can find out.
3)Identity theft refers to a broad variety of criminal misuses of your name.
4)You can place an alert of your Social Security Number by calling one of the 3 nationwide companies.
5)Take action immediately once your info has been stolen.
6)If you aren't getting anymore bills your account still might be hijacked.
7)The best way to get a free copy of you credit report is to file a Freedom of Information Act Request. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you to ask and receive a free credit card every 12 months.